Fire Emblem Blades of Arturia
by OldmanSour
Summary: Among the myriad timelines, there was one in which Ike and his fellow Greil Mercenaries were granted unusual weapons before the war between Crimea and Daein. Weapons that could very well change the face of the days to come, not just for Ike, but for all the peoples of the continents of Tellius.
1. Chapter 1

If Ike was at all nervous for this, his first mission with the Greil Mercenaries, he certainly wasn't showing it to his colleagues. He didn't even complain about walking all the way to Caldea village, which, Oscar noted, was something his brother Boyd did not avoid on his first job. Ike's focus was solely on the job at hand, and on proving himself to his father. He realized he still had a very long way to go, but he also knew he wasn't the pup he once was. Now he had the chance to prove it.

Focused though he was, he didn't fail to notice the wagoneer approaching from the other side of a river bridge not far from the village, though not before team leader Titania did. He even recognized the driver, a reedy man with white streaks in his sickly green hair. He went by the name Sthensar, and he was a traveling merchant. He'd dealt with the Greil Mercenaries before, though not often. When he carried instruments of war such that mercenaries would be interested in, they were always enchanted in some way, and thus fairly expensive. Ike had only ever seen him make one sale to the mercenary company, a tome purchased by Soren, though he had given them a number of useful contacts and information, and he was considered a friend to the company.

"Ho, my friends!" the green-haired man called to them as he casually drove his mule towards them. The pale-faced man had an outgoing personality, but the kind of face one automatically distrusts, and his right eye did not quite look the same way its mate did. "What brings you out this way?"

"Business." Titania answered him. "We've been called to Caldea village."

"Ah, how fortuitous, then, that I should run across you now!" the merchant replied, pulling his mule to a halt. "I just so happen to be carrying some goods that would serve you very well in the coming battle."

"What makes you think it's a battle we're going to?" Ike asked him suspiciously.

"My young friend, why else would the esteemed Greil Mercenaries be called on business to a small village like Caldea?" Sthensar said with a businessman's smile. "If I were to make a guess... Bandits near the town?"

"In it, actually." Titania corrected him.

"All the more reason to have a fine weapon in hand." said Sthensar as he reached behind him into his wagon, and produced a sheathed sword. "Ike, my young friend, come and try this blade on for size." he offered, holding the hilt of the weapon towards Ike.

"I don't really need a new sword right now."

"You've not tried this one."

Ike spared a glance at Titania. "Do we have time for this right now?"

"I believe so. I don't think anything will change at Caldea in the next few minutes."

"Well, I suppose there's no harm in trying." Ike said with a shrug as he accepted the red-hilted sword from the merchant. "Good weight." he muttered, hefting the weapon a couple of times to test the feel of it, then drew the bastard sword. It was just a bit shorter than the sword belted at his hip, but it was lighter, made of paler steel, and there was a symbol Ike didn't recognize emblazoned upon the flat of the sword.

"And for you, Boyd, I have this." Sthensar said as Ike examined his sword. The merchant handed Boyd an two-headed axe that was, like Ike's, not quite as large as the weapon he carried, but still strong and bearing that character. The edges of both glowed with a very pale pink aura as the two young warriors swung them through the air.

"This is pretty light." Ike remarked as he went through one of his practice routines with the sword. "It looks heavier than it is."

"You will find that the sword, and the axe, Boyd, attune themselves to their wielders. They feel just as heavy as is ideal for you, but they generate much less fatigue than a normal sword. For every one time you could swing an iron blade, you could swing that sword seven times, even eight!" Sthensar extolled, smiling easily. "That of course is in addition to the fact that the weapons pierce armor more easily than a mundane weapon."

"As usual, you make a good sales pitch." Titania said tolerantly. "But I'm afraid there's still the usual problem-"

"How much? That question doesn't have the usual reply, my lady. You see, I am selling these weapons on behalf of a third party, one who operates under rather unusual principals. They do not believe in collecting any money until they recieve reports of customer satisfaction." Sthensar aims one eye at Titania while the other looks down at Ike. "To that end, you may use the weapons today as a trial, to see if they meet your satisfaction. And if they do, then we can negociate a fair price at a later time, when it is more convenient for you." he explains with a polite inclination of his head.

"You're not worried about them breaking before you sell them?" Oscar asks the merchant.

"My dear Oscar, those weapons would not break unless you were wielding them against the scales of the most ancient of Goldoan dragons." Sthensar replied confidently. "Perhaps not even then."

Oscar grimaced at the somewhat unsightly merchant. "If you please, don't call me that. It is... uncomfortable, somehow."

Rather than seem offended, Sthensar laughs lightly. "My apologies, sir knight."

"I'll take you up on that offer." says Ike as he raises his magical blade. "I think I can get some good use out of this blade."

"Same here." Boyd adds quickly. "Can't let Ike be the only one with a new toy."

"Splendid, young men!" the merchant exclaimed before reaching down into the footwell of his wagon. "Now, my lady knight, I am afraid I have but the one axe to offer. I do have a spear, however, if you've an interest, sir Oscar?"

"Just Oscar will suffice. And thank you for the offer, but, no. My spear is neither enchanted nor special, but it has served me well enough so far."

Sthensar nods his acknowledgement as he makes a note in a ledger of his. "Perfectly understandable, good sir. Well," he says as he replaces his ledger in the footwell. "I suppse I should keep you no longer. After all, we all have work to be attenting to."

"Indeed." Ike replied, belting his new sword onto his right hip. "Take care, Sthensar."

The cant-eyed merchant gives the Greil Mercenaries a friendly wave as they take their leave of him, resuming their course towards Caldea village, sending his right eye shifting in its socket. "Wield your blades well, young men..."

* * *

Thus, a little more than an hour later, Ike and his three comrades arrived at the village of Caldea. The sight of the armed bandits that had occupied the town, the ones they had been charged with driving off, might have filled some fledgling mercenaries with trepidation, but not Ike. He kept his resolve and his patience, waiting for Titania to offer her instructions before engaging the enemy.

"Our primary target is the mansion at the back of the village." the red-headed paladin explained, pointing out the building in question with her axe. "The bandits leader is inside. We take him out, and secure the building. After that, the rest of the bandits should either flee or surrender."

"Now remember, Ike, try not to do too much yourself." Oscar reminded his young friend. "It's not hard to get ahead of the rest of the group, and that can get you in deadly trouble. We don't want you getting in over your head on your first job."

Ike nods at the green armored knight. "I'll be careful. Oscar, Boyd, thanks for your support." Drawing his blade, Ike turned his attention to the enemies before him. He spared one more glance at his new sword, the finely-edged blade that glowed faintly pink. It was a new sword, but it felt right and strong. He trusted in himself, his friends, and his weapons. Ike was ready.

Being the most experienced of the group, Titania rode out ahead of the men to draw off and engage the bulk of the bandits in the village, leaving Ike to head north, while Boyd headed west to clear out the lower parts of the village. Ike didn't have to wait too long before he had need of his blade, either. A pockmarked man with messy brown hair walking down a dusty lane met his gaze almost as soon as Ike had entered the village proper. He took one look at the grim faced and armed mercenary and quickly drew his rust-sploched axe. "Someone's looking for trouble." he snarled at Ike.

Ike's only reply was to raise his blade and charge forward. The bandit laughed an ugly laugh and readied his axe, thinking Ike a mere boy playing with a fancy sword he found. All he could see was the money he'd make selling a sword that nice. He was totally unprepared for Ike's demonstration of skill when he sidestepped the bandit's opening swing and returned the favor, laying open the bandit's stomach. The bandit blinked with incomprehension, not only at the display of skill on Ike's part, but also that the wound did not ache like it should. It seemed to tingle, somehow, an actually pleasant sensation. He did not have time to dwell on it for too long, however, as Ike brought his sword down across the bandit's chest in a massive two-handed swing, and the man with the pockmarked face crumpled to the ground.

There wasn't as much blood as Ike had expected there to be. In fact, both wounds seemed remarkably clean, if such a term could be applied to fatal battle wounds. He heard Oscar ride up next to him, but the knight barely had time to say a word before a house in the northern part of town burst into flames. Both mercs felt this was no accident, and with a quick look, each one knew the other knew it was the bandits that had done it. And that, despite that, whoever lived in that house may need their help. "Go." Ike said quickly. "I'll watch your back." Oscar nodded sharply then kicked his horse into action, leaving Ike follow behind him and make sure no enemies came up behind his colleague. With that task on his mind, he didn't notice the pink energy glowing in the wounds of the bandit he had just cut down. He didn't know, couldn't know, that that same energy in his sword was now coursing its way through the flesh of the bandit who was not quite as dead as he appeared to be...

Even though no enemies appeared to impede Ike's progress, he still had to struggle not to let Oscar get too far ahead of him. By the time he'd caught up with his green-armored comrade, Oscar had found the bandits that had destroyed the house. One of them was already down, the wound in his neck mortal, but Oscar was now being attacked from two sides as an axe carrying muscular bandit worked around behind him with a smaller cutthroat tried to fend off Oscar's deadly spear.

Before Ike could join the frey, Oscar, showing his skill and expertise, goaded his horse into kicking out behind it, catching the axe-man in his burly chest and sending him sprawing to the ground. Not wanting to let the man get back up and menace his friend, Ike reversed the grip of his sword, lunged at the scar-faced man and drove his blade down into his chest. The bandit's hand released his axe as the man let out an unintelligable gurgle, his head rolling back to rest on the ground.

Ike looked up to see if Oscar needed further assistance, but the rough-looking swordsman was clearly overmatched by the Greil Mercenary. So Ike turned his attention to the large house to his left: the target house. And standing in the doorway, carrying an iron axe, was the man Titania identified as the bandit's leader. The man named Zawana swing his axe derisively at Ike. "I thought we were facing a bunch of sellswords, but you're nothing but a boy. Well, every brat needs a beating now and then. Ready for it?

"Not today." Ike replied grimly, approaching the bandit in the ragedy shirt, his sword glowing more strongly. "If you want to run away, now's your chance."

Zawana laughed an ugly laugh. "Imagine that, you sassing me. Don't that beat all. Come on, boy!" he cried, swinging his axe at Ike. Ike blocked the blow, but sensed straightaway that this bandit was different than the two he'd beaten before. Stronger, yes, and he wielded his axe with some skill. But he didn't seem to be as good as Boyd, Ike thought as he struck back at Zawana, stabbing the bandit chief in his left shoulder. If he could beat Boyd, he could beat this man.

He wouldn't do it bloodlessly, though, as Zawana's return swing got past Ike's defenses, striking the young man in the ribs. At least one was broken, Ike thought, but that wasn't enough to stop him. Especially not since Zawana's strike had left his left side wide open. Ike wasted no time in gripping his sword with both hands and driving the blade into Zawana's flank. The outlaw gasped in surprise, yet still managed to take one last swing with his axe at Ike. The son of Greil merely took a step back, pulling his glowing sword out of Zawana's side and letting the bandit's axe nick him in the chest, barely breaking his skin, before deliberately running the bandit chief through.

Then Ike heard Oscar yelling his name from where Ike had killed the last bandit before facing Zawana. Seeing the bandit chief in no condition to strike at him, Ike spared a quick glance at the screaming knight, then turned completely, his attention entirely diverted from Zawana. The scar-faced bandit that he'd impaled earlier was now glowing, a brilliant pink and white light. In the backlight from the buring house, Ike had somehow missed it, but there was no way to miss it now. It had to be a consequence of his sword, but Ike had never heard of a sword that could do that to a body. And despite the brilliance of the light, Ike was certain that the form was no longer that of the bandit. To his keen eyes, it seemed somehow female.

And indeed, when the light faded a moment later, the very male bandit that Ike had stabbed was now very female, and very pretty at that. And the biggest surprise, she wasn't dead. There was no sign of the stab wound Ike had inflicted upon the bandit.

Stunned, Ike turned back to Zawana. With no threat to him present, Ike was able to see the mystical energy in the bandit's wounds. "That's impossible..." Ike muttered as he saw the light begin to dance in Zawana's empty eyes.

"What's happening here?" Oscar cried, as confused as Ike himself.

The young swordsman looks down at the magic sword in his hand, the glow surrounding it the same glow as the light that suffused the downed bandit, the one now spreading across and through Zawana's skin. "It's... This sword. It has to be! But I don't... Oh heavens, Boyd!" he yelled, turning back towards the entrance to the village, the way Boyd had went. Boyd, who was wielding the same kind of magical weapon that Ike was. Sure enough, towards the south end of the village he saw his fellow mercenary, along with Titania, speaking with two women wearing the same sort of clothing that the other bandits had been, carrying weapons the same kind of weapons the bandits had been using.

"How could Sthensar not have told us this..." Ike muttered to himself, stunned by the magic on display. "What was his plan?"

Lost in thought, Ike didn't notice that Zawana's body had become completely suffused by the light of the sword. Even if he had noticed, he wouldn't have been able to tell what the light was doing to the bandit chief. The power of the sword was racing through not only Zawana's body but his soul, seeking the blackness within him and scourging it, purifying the ugliness of his spirit. The magic consumed evil like a glutton consumed food, but the process was not a painful one. All Zawana's body was registering was a pleassurable tingle.

At least it was at times. His mind was changing as well as his body. The events of his life were passing through his mind, before his eyes, reflecting on his life almost faster than his conscious mind could process. The dark deeds of the man's life now evoked a sense of guilt in the changing woman's mind. There was an acknowledgement of guilt for the wrongs he had committed, and a growing desire to make up for them. To do right from then on. That joy and satisfaction could be found in better places. In the light. Now, she was meant for better things.

None of these things were known to Ike. All he knew was, when the light faded from the bandit leaders body, he, like his cohorts, was now a she. Her hair was a softer shade of blue, as were her eyes. She still had a sizable nose, but it wasn't as pronounced as it was before. And her tattered brown tunic and bandolier were a bit strained to contain the new woman's bosom.

Ike didn't know what to make of Zawana now. When she stirred, groaning slightly, he reflexively gripped his sword tighter, but relaxed it when he saw Zawana's axe slip from her hands to clatter to the ground. The bandit chief sighed deeply then fell limply forward. Ike leaned in impulsively to catch the falling woman, steadying her before she hit the ground. "Passed out..." the mercenary muttered to himself. He looked over at Oscar again, who had dismounted and was now tending to the downed bandit, who seemed nearly as dazed as his- her- leader. The look in the green-haired knight's eyes seemed to say the same thing that Ike was thinking to himself: "Now what?"

When the day started, Ike knew that his first mission would be, in some small way at least, not entirely what he expected it to be. But this was beyond his wildest dreams. Looking down at his magical sword, Ike scowled and muttered aloud, "Sthensar's got a lot of explainign to do."


	2. Chapter 2 - Rescue

Throughout all of his life, Ike had very rarely seen his father angry. He almost never even raised his voice, not even to Shinon, and it was easy for someone to want to raise their voice to him. So it was to Ike's tremendous surprise when his father Greil's response to seeing Sthensar the merchant walk through his door was to grab the cant-eyed man by the throat and lift him off the ground as easily as if the merchant were a scrap of paper. Ike knew his father was incredibly strong, but he didn't know he was capable of that kind of power. Nor did he think he'd ever throttle someone.

"I... can tell... you're upset..." the merchant gasped as he tried, without any success, to pry Greil's fingers off his throat, his right eye starting to float in its socket. In fact, all his actions and words seemed to do was make Greil angrier than he already was.

Not knowing what to say to his father, Ike simply walked around him and headed to Titania's side. The red-headed knight, however, was not at a loss for words. "Commander, if you simply wring his neck, Sthensar won't be able to explain his actions." Though she sounded reasonable, there was no mistaking the anger in her voice. She wasn't much happier with the merchant than Greil himself was. "And you DID come here to explain, didn't you?" she asks the merchant pointedly.

Sthensar managed to squeak out a short "Yes...!"

The mercenary commander abruptly released his grip on Sthensar's neck, and the green-haired man collapsed in a heap at Greil's feet. "So talk." Greil commanded him. "Now. And you had better have a very good reason for lying to my people."

Still gasping for air, the dishevelled merchant with the messy hair looked up at Greil with a curious look on his face. "That's the thing that bothers you most?"

That may not have been the best thing Sthensar could have said, as Greil's face becomes even more severe as he scowls down at the merchant. "First things first." he growls out.

"Have you ever seen father like this before?" Ike asked Titania very quietly.

The paladin shakes her head slightly. "Only once. He had a reason, then. I'll tell you about it later."

"As you wish." Sthensar says to Greil, still massaging his throat. "In the simplest terms, commander, I had no choice. I was following my orders."

"You're a merchant, not a soldier." the brunette counters.

"Please, good sir, allow me to explain." Sthensar pleaded with the tall man, his right eye still not settling down. It seemed almost to be swinging back and forth now. "As you say, I am a merchant. And I make deals for a wide variety of clients. Some of those clients are very powerful people, not simply in terms of their status and stature, but in terms of their prowess in combat, be it with blade or bow or tome or claw. The blades I gave to your men were given to me to distribute by the most powerful of my clients. A client I dare not gainsay or disobey."

Having regained his breath, Sthensar's voice had regained its usual smoothness. "Believe me, Commander Greil, if my source for the weapons had some nefarious purpose in mind for them, some ill intentions towards your group, I would most assuredly have told them so."

"But you still would have given the weapons to them."

Sthensar lowered his head slightly at Greil's accusation. "Yes, I would have. My source was quite clear."

"Then it was _us_ you were supposed to give those weapons to?" Ike asked him. "I thought you were just trying to make a sale and happened upon us."

The merchant found his smile as he turned his lazy eyes towards Ike and Titania. "You were partly right, young man. I had no idea you were en route to Caldea at the time, but I myself was en route to your headquarters here. Had I not encountered you, I would have made my way here and made my offer to your father."

"But only Boyd and I took your weapons."

"My client did not demand total distribution for the first use of the weapons. Some was sufficient. Enough for you to see what they could do."

"And because of that," Greil scowled, "instead of a crew of dead bandits, we now have some dead bandits and some pretty young girls, most of which are nearly completely amnesiac."

Sthensar cleared his throat as he finally pulls himself to his feet, still looking a bit warily at Greil. "And your deputy commander brought them back here once the fighting was over."

"I didn't know what else to do with them." Titania explains. "It didn't seem appropriate to leave them in the village that they had been plundering, even after the changes they went through. And since we were the ones that changed them, I felt that the responsibility for them was ours."

The merchant with the strange eyes can't help but smile. "Once again, you prove yourself a good woman, lady Titania."

"Better than lying merchants, that's for sure." said the still glowering Greil.

"I will not deny that." Sthensar replied, lowering his head. "However, I cannot help but notice that you did not disapprove of her decision."

"That's beside the point."

"Is it?" Sthensar holds his hands up as if to forestall violence as Greil's scowl deepens even more. "Please, commander, if I may explain." he pleads, his lazy eye, for once, nearly still, meeting Greil's eye. "My source for these weapons did not inform me why they selected your group to receive these weapons. But, while I was en route here, I had sufficient time to form a theory. I believe that they wished for your group to have these weapons because you and the members of your group would use them responsibly. That you and your people would be the ones best suited for them, not physically, but emotionally. The weapons of Arturia- That is what my source called them, incidentally- do represent a significant power, but they also come with great responsibility. Imagine what that sword of yours, Ike, could do in the hands of one less reputable, more unscrupulous, than yourself. Those five young women could have found themselves surrounded by people willing and able to exploit them. But you were not. And neither were your colleagues. Not all mercenary groups would be able to say the same."

"A fine speech." Greil rumbles. "But what makes you and this source of yours think that we _want_ these weapons, this power?"

The cant-eyed merchant smiles again. "Perhaps that question is best asked to your subordinates?" he suggests.

"Don't deflect, Sthensar." Greil spat, angrily sticking his finger in Sthensar's face. "This entire situation is on your shoulders."

"Then, to answer your question a bit more directly, you should know that I spoke with Oscar and Boyd before Ike brought me to you, and not only did Boyd wish to retain possession of the Arturian Axe, his elder brother claimed one of the spears I brought with me."

For the first time since Sthensar arrived, Greil's expression shows something other than anger. The merchant's matter of fact report on the brothers' opinions visibly catches him off-guard. "Is that true?" Titania asks Ike.

Greil's son nods. "As a matter of fact, Oscar was practising with his new spear when I found them."

"You need not look so surprised, commander." Sthensar said soothingly to Greil. "His reasoning is well in keeping with his character."

"What did he say?"

Sthensar tilted his head slightly as he takes a moment to recall the conversation more clearly. By some trick of the light, his lazy eye seems to flash as he replies, "Oscar is a goodhearted man that has been trained to kill for a living. I mean that not as a criticism, not in any sense, commander. Merely an observation. Oscar can kill, and has killed, to protect the helpless and the defenceless. But if given the option, he would not. There simply was no other way with the foes you deal with. You either kill them all, or kill enough of them so that the rest flee and hope they learn their lesson. That is the reality all of your group face. The reality of the life of the noble mercenary."

"Now, however, there _is_ another way. For him and indeed for all of you that wish to avail yourselves of the option." he adds for the benefit of Ike and Titania, sweeping his gaze back and forth between Greil and his comrades. The woman and the young man seem almost mesmerized by the odd gleam in the unusual eyes of Sthensar. They can see why he is a successful merchant, as persuasive as he is.

The commander, however, is seemingly less convinced. "All you did was give my people another distraction on the battlefield. You didn't tell them everything they needed to know, and that could have gotten them killed. Even the smallest lapse invites death." he proclaims, invoking one of the unofficial mottoes of the Greil Mercenaries. "And you left them to deal with consequences they did not expect to have, consequences of a unique and unnatural natural."

"Come now, commander, encountering unusual consequences is hardly something new for your group. The Greil Mercenaries would not be as successful as they are if your people haven't done just that before." Sthensar moved around a table behind him, putting it between himself and Greil. "As for those consequences, I merely suspected that Titania would bring the new women back here. That was not my idea. And truthfully, do you blame her for that?"

Greil snarled. "That is none of your concern."

"I think it is my concern, since you place the blame for that act on me. But let us set that aside for the moment." the merchant says easily as he pulls out a chair for himself, sitting down. "My lady Titania, if I may ask, do you have any objections to this current situation?"

The commander's eyes seemed to bulge in anger as Sthensar brought his deputy into the conversation, but Titania answered before he could shout. "I am no more fond than the commander about the fact that you didn't tell us everything about those weapons. But..." She spares a somewhat contrite glance at Griel before she finishes her thought. "If you're asking me if I hate the fact that we turned those bandits into girls, then... I have to admit, I do not."

"Titania?" Greil gaped.

She flinched again under the surprise of her leader. "At least, I don't right now. There's still some things I don't understand about this whole situation."

Gesturing for her to join him, Sthensar says, "Then please, ask, and I shall endeavour to enlighten you. And you as well, Ike, if you've any questions of your own."

Titania shook her head slightly at his first suggestion, then asked, "Four of the ones Ike and Boyd transformed lost nearly all their memories, but their leader, Zawana, did not. Why was he... she, different?"

Sthensar smiled. "'She' would be appropriate now, as the 'he' is gone. But regrettably, that is a question I do not have an answer for. My source did not tell me everything about those weapons, either. But I will be sure to ask them your question, my lady, when next I meet with them."

"Isn't it a bit unusual for a reputable merchant to not know the whole story behind what they are selling?"

"Not where this client is concerned." Sthensar replied with a slight frown. "It is perhaps more accurate to refer to them as 'masters' than 'sources'." The merchant sighs slightly. "Such is my lot."

"Well, did this master of yours tell you why all their personalities seemed to change along with their gender?" Ike asked.

"Ah, you noticed that about them." Sthensar replied, his smile returning. "And yes, they did. Though that phrasing is not entirely accurate either, my good Ike. You see, the magic within your sword, and Boyd's axe, does end the life of your opponent, in a sense. Once you have struck someone enough with an Arturian weapon, the magic within their bodies runs through their body and soul and attacks the darkness within them. Their inner evil, if you will. While that is happening, the magic finds what my source referred to as a spark of goodness within them, and nourishes that spark. It grows to fill the void left behind by the darkness that's been wiped away. In the simplest possible terms, it takes a bad person and turns them into a good person."

"Permanently?" Titania asks.

Sthensar shakes his head. "Not necessarily. The Arturian weapons do not enslave people, or reduce them to mere constructs. They are still people, and they do still have choice. Free will. And anyone with choice can just as easily choose to become a bandit just as they did in their first go-around in life. It just will not be anytime soon, not according to my source. They said that the taste of goodness one finds while in the grips of the weapons' magic will not be easily forgotten or forsaken. Which means that, should you choose to allow any or all of them to stay with you, you needn't worry about them betraying you for fun or profit." The merchant levels a grin at the mercenaries. "Not that they would pose any more a threat to you than they did yesterday."

"And, as an incidental point, if any of them do express interest in remaining with your group, I of course am ready and able to acquire appropriate gear for them. And I am willing to reduce my usual prices." He inclines his head humbly. "As a means of apology for the displeasure you have experienced."

"Is that what your source expects from us?" Griel growls. "To spend our days turning villains into women, recruiting them and using them to turn more villains into more girls?"

Sthensar holds his hands up. "Please, calm yourself, commander. As I said before, my source knows that neither-"

"Be silent." the commander interrupted him, his eyebrow twitching in anger. "This... this power, these weapons. They're wrong, and you're wrong to encourage people to use them. That kind of power is an abomination. It's unnatural, even the Goddess never did that. I don't know who your source thinks they are, or why they think they have the- And where did they get these damned weapons, anyway?" he demands.

A number of replies cross the mind of the cant-eyed merchant, and this time he opts for simple truth. "I do not know."

"Somehow I am not surprised at that." Greil replied with a scowl, and rubs his forehead as though to ward off a headache, before looking at Titania. "You're really okay with this?"

The red-tressed knight hesitates briefly, then nods quickly. "I think I am, commander. These weapons seem to do more than remove bad people from the world, it puts more good people in it. People that might not become bandits and kidnappers and thieves, or even worse." On a thought, she asks Sthensar, "Do these weapons affect people's views on Laguz?"

"Affect them how, my lady?"

"You do a fair amount of travelling in your trade. You must know that feelings among Beorc towards the Laguz are not always positive."

Sthensar nods. "A sad fact of the world we live in. And, you are wondering if the Arturian items change those feelings?"

"Change them for the better." Titania clarifies.

Catching the disapproving look on Greil's face, Sthensar speaks to him first. "It is a valid thought, commander. I believe you may be more well travelled than I. You know very well that the racist views among Beorc tend to start negatively and grow worse over time. Even here in Crimea. And those attitudes are harder to change than the tides in some people. Among both peoples, Laguz can be just as guilty." The gleam in his lazy eye seems as subdued as his voice as the merchant talks about the dour subject. "I honestly don't know, Titania." he says to her without his usual merchant's verve and energy. "But I truly hope so."

Whether it was what Sthensar had said or the sincerity behind his words, Greil seemed to calm a little. "All right, Titania. I'll give the matter some thought. And I won't order our people to give those weapons back to Sthensar. But I also don't want you giving any more of those weapons to my people, not until I make a decision whether or not to continue using them." he adds in Sthensar's direction. "Understood?"

"Perfectly, commander." Sthensar answered with a nod.

"Yes, sir." replied Titania.

"All right. You're dismissed, all of you. But don't go too far, merchant, I expect I'll want to talk to you again once I get back from Chima."

The cant-eyed merchant bowed his head. "As you wish, commander."

Titania left before the other two men, her expression a distracted one. Together, Ike and Sthensar left the Commander to his thoughts, walking out the front of the fort together. "If you don't mind me saying, Ike, you seemed rather surprised at your father's reaction when he saw me first."

"I was." the young mercenary admits. "I don't think I've ever seen him that angry. Angry enough to shout before, yes, but never to choke someone."

"For my part, it was not entirely unexpected." Ike stopped to look back at Sthensar, whose lazy eye no longer seemed to gleam. He shrugged helplessly at Ike. "He had a number of good points. I did mislead you and your comrades, after all. I did put weapons of amazing and unusual power in the hands of people who were not prepared for the results because I had misled them. And it was entirely possible that while you, or one of the others, was distracted by the results of the blades' magic, another of your enemy could have come up behind you and ended you. I'm sure lesser warriors would have been. As your leader, and your father, Greil is justified in his anger towards me. The fact that I really had no choice is besides the point. As a matter of fact, I was expecting you to be angry with me as well."

"I'm more confused than angry." the young man replies. "I'd be angry if those weapons did something horrible to people, or had some kind of curse, but..." He raised his head to look around the mercenary fort's grounds, where he could see one of the former bandits chatting with the group's healer, Rhys, who had recently recovered from one of his somewhat frequent illnesses. He knew that Mist had taken a shine to one of the others, and had taken her along with her and Rolf to go flower picking a little earlier. "I'm not sure this was a bad thing." he finished his thought. He gave his head a slight shake, then jerked his head forward. "Come on, we should tell Oscar and Boyd about what Father had to say."

"'We'?" Sthensar asked curiously. "I am not one of your group."

"True, but you're involved in this current situation. And since Father didn't want you leaving, I didn't know if you wanted to be alone until he got back to you."

"That's very thoughtful, Ike. Thank you."

They found the two brothers at the stables just inside the fortress walls where the mercenary group kept their pack animals, as well as Titania and Oscar's mounts. The men had acquired some company since Ike and Sthensar had last seen them, in the form of two of the bandits-turned-women. One of whom was Zawana, sitting on a large bale of hay watching Boyd take a few swings of his training axe, her own practice weapon resting on her lap. The other girl, much to Ike's surprise, was sitting astride Oscar's horse. Sitting comfortably, even, as Oscar led the animal at a gentle walk towards the far end of the stable. To his recollection, Ike had never seen Oscar let anyone ride his horse. There was a personal connection between rider and mount that Ike couldn't understand, yet the blue-haired girl seemed as at ease atop the great beast as the horse seemed with her there.

Zawana was the first to note the arrival of the two other men, and she greeted them with a wave of her free hand. "Hey there, Ike."

Boyd shot his fellow mercenary and his merchant companion a grin. "The commander's finished with you, Sthensar?"

"As you expected, we had a discussion pertaining to your new weapon. And its, shall we say, consequences." he adds, looking at Zawana. "Not unsurprisingly, he had some rather uncomplimentary things to say about my choices."

"Well you're not getting any complaints from me." the former bandit said with a chuckle. "If you hadn't given Ike there that sword of his, consequences of meeting him for me would be a shallow grave. I like this consequences a heck of a lot better."

"Yeah, all's well that ends well." Boyd adds with a casual swing of his axe. "We still saved that village, we still got paid, still did good. I mean sure, maybe you didn't tell us everything, but I don't think that's reason enough for the commander to get mad at you, not REALLY mad, anyway."

The lazy-eyed merchant laughed at Boyd's casual demeanour. "You commander sees things in a rather different light, I am afraid, my dear Boyd."

"'course he does." Zawana adds. "He's the boss. Makes a whole world of difference when you're the boss of folks."

Boyd shrugged. "I suppose you'd know."

"Darn straight I'd know, kid." the former bandit replied confidently.

Ike tuned them out as he walked apart from the merchant, heading towards Oscar and the blue-haired woman sitting atop his horse. Ike was no expert when it came to matters of an equestrian nature, but even to his untrained eye the lady seemed quite at home atop Oscar's horse. The handsome knight nodded as he saw Ike approach. "Good day, Ike."

"Oscar." He looked back and forth between his fellow mercenary and the woman. "What's going on here?"

Oscar smiles. "Miranda wanted to ride him the minute she laid eye on him back in Caldea."

"Miranda?" Ike asked the woman. He wasn't aware any of them had new names.

The woman smiled a little shyly. "I liked the sound of it. Oscar gave it me."

"Miranda was a woman I knew back in my home village." Oscar explained. "She raised horses. I don't think I've ever known anyone that loved horses like she did, or that had the same kind of natural connection with them. So, when I saw Miranda here take to my horse so easily, the name just seemed to fit."

Ike nodded. "Trust you to know how to help someone fit in, Oscar."

Although Ike's tone was a bit on the blunt side, Oscar knew his fellow mercenary well enough to recognize a compliment from Ike when he heard one. Miranda, on the other hand, was less familiar with Ike's demeanour, and frowned at the blue-haired man. "He has!" she insists, before giving the knight a gentle smile. "He's been so kind to me since we met."

"I know." Ike replies with a nod. "That's the kind of guy Oscar is."

"And I'm afraid this is the kind of guy that Ike is." Oscar said lightly. "I know he may not sound like the most polite man in Crimea, but he's nicer than his manner of speaking."

"Thanks. I think." Ike replied dryly.

As the woman giggled at the exchange between the two men, there came a disturbance from the front entrance to the stables. "Everyone, come quickly!" Ike heard the voice of Rhys shouting, and that in and of itself was a bit of a worry. Rhys was generally a quiet man that virtually never shouted. Turning to look at the white-robed young man, Ike saw that something was plainly bothering his fellow mercenary.

Zawana picked up on Rhys' agitation as well. "Something wrong, kid?" Despite being outwardly no older than Oscar, Zawana seemed to have picked up the habit of referring to most of the mercenaries as 'kid'.

Either Rhys didn't notice, or he was too bothered to care. "It's Mist and Rolf... They... They've been taken by bandits!"

"What?!" Boyd roared.

"What do you mean, Rhys?" Oscar asked, maintaining his composure much better than his brother. "Mist and Rolf went outside to pick wildflowers earlier today. I believe they took one of Zawana's people with them as well." He frowned. "Sure, they're not back yet, but..."  
Rhys shook his head. "A little while ago, a man came to the front gate and asked me to deliver a letter to Titania. It was from a group of bandits- kidnappers. Oh, what are we going to do?" he moaned.

"Calm down, Rhys." said Oscar as he crossed the stable floor. "Let me see that letter."

"Oh, if I'd only known." Rhys continued after handing the scrap of parchment to Oscar. "He didn't seem at all like a bad person..."

"Lots of bandit crews keep one or two people around like that, if they can." Zawana said grimly. "Makes it easier to conduct legit business. Or kidnap someone. You trot out a pretty face to make someone drop their guard, and then it's too late."

"I suppose you would know." Boyd said acidly.

Zawana's head rises defiantly. "I know the trick. I never used it. Never had anyone that pretty." she says with a withering sigh. "If I had..."

"I get it now." Oscar said after reading the kidnapper's latter. "It's revenge they're after. They want retribution for the defeat of their comrades at Caldea village. Hmph." The stoic mercenaries' face twists with anger. "Taking children as hostages. What cowards!"

"Damn them!" Ike swore suddenly, starting to run for the exit.

"Wait, Ike!" Boyd called after him. "Where do you think you're going?"

"To save my sister!"

"But, Ike, wait." Rhys pleaded. "Titania, she said she'd be right back. She said you're supposed to get ready and wait for her..."

"And you think we've really got the time to wait?!" Ike shouted in reply, making the gentle healer wince at the sound. "I'm going! Now!"

Leaving Zawana to ruminate, Boyd turned back to Ike. "What do you think you can do all on your own, rookie?" He asked sharply, but Ike did not answer. He was already on his way out of the stable at a run. "Hey! Hold it!" Boyd jumped to his feet, throwing down his practice axe. "I'm coming too!"

Rhys barely had time to get out of the way of the two more martial mercenaries. "Stop! Both of you! I... I'm going, too!"

Oscar gaped as the normally level headed Rhys tore after Ike and Boyd. "Oh, come on, you... This is getting out of hand. Do you think you can just ignore the deputy commander's orders?!" he yelled after the other three men.

"Looks like they just did." Zawana remarked, having come to her feet while Oscar was futilely trying to call his comrades back. "And I don't think I blame them. Family's involved, right?"

Oscar scowled briefly, then turned towards his horse. "Yes. Ike's sister, and my youngest brother. And I can't just let them go off and walk into a trap."

"Not without you?"

"... Not without me." Oscar replied after a moment's pause. He paused again before he mounted his horse, Miranda's hand resting on his for a moment.

"Be careful." she asked of Oscar, her green eyes thick with emotion.

"Always." Oscar assured her as he climbed up on his horse and, wasting no more words, spurred the animal into action, intent on catching up with his companions.

Zawana aimed a grin at her fellow ex-bandit. Miranda blushed and turned her head away from her leader's amused look. "I... I don't want to see him hurt." she stammered.

"I gathered that." Zawana said with a chuckle. "And that means I'm going, too." At Miranda's surprised look, Zawana's face lost its smile. "Not just for you, girl. But we owe these people. Even if we didn't, it's still the right thing to do." The former bandit pulled out her axe. "I remember all the times I used this before Ike ran me through. Wonder how it's gonna feel to do something good with it, for a change."

All but forgotten in the chaos, the merchant Sthensar cleared his throat, drawing Zawana's attention. "I'm sure they will welcome your help, my lady. However, if you are willing, I may be able to supply you with a better weapon to achieve that aim..."

Despite Oscar being mounted, Ike and Boyd opened up a surprisingly large lead on him before he started after them. The two young men could really move when they put their minds to it, and as it turned out, they could really put their minds to it when family was involved. It was all Rhys could do to keep up with the pair. Never the most athletic of the group, Rhys was breathing very heavily when Ike and Boyd stopped dead at a fork in the road.

"Damn." Boyd swore. "Which way is it?"

"How'm I supposed to know that?" Ike demanded.

Boyd whirled on him. "You mean you just took off without having a clue where you were supposed to be going? Unbelievable. Why don't you think before you run off next time, you moron!"

"Shut your mouth, Boyd!" Ike shouted, his face burning with outrage.

"C-calm down, both of you!" Rhys pleaded, trying to catch his breath. "This is no time for arguing!"

The two men were still glaring at each other when Oscar rode up. "Why am I not surprised." he remarks, shaking his head. "This is why you don't just run off without a plan, you hotheads. You end up like this."

"Oh, spare us, brother." Boyd spits at him. "You're out here, too, you know. Which is a hell of a surprise. Normally you two chambermaids wouldn't even dream about breaking orders."

Pushing past Boyd, Ike asked, "Oscar, you know this road, right? Which way do we go from here?"

"If you insist on going to the bandits' stronghold, it's the right fork. It leads up to the hills."

"Got it!" Ike answered, and he was moving again almost before the second syllable was out of his mouth.

"Hey! I'm still talking here, rookie!" Boyd roared after him. "You don't just get to ignore me!" And then he was chasing Ike again.

"That's a passionate pair of men." A female voice remarks from the road behind Oscar and Rhys. Oscar turned his horse around to see Zawana jogging up to join them.

"What are you doing here?" the knight asked her.

"Helping." Zawana replied with a light grin. "I was gonna give those two directions to Ikanau's base, but you had that one covered."

"You know this bandit?" Rhys asked her.

"Yeah. Come on, I'll explain on the way."

"This group's boss is called Ikanau." she explained as the three started to follow Ike and Boyd. "Usually sticks to straight up plunder and pillage, but he's obviously not above kidnapping. Him and me used to work together every now and then. Our crews were pretty friendly. That's probably why he came after you."

"The people he kidnaps," Rhys asks her. "Does he..."

"No, he doesn't kill 'em." Zawana assures him. "There's no profit that. Ikanau's all about the profit. If word got out he killed people instead of giving them back like he said, people'd stop paying him."

"How large is his crew?" Oscar asks.

"Bigger than mine, but not by a lot. Unless he's brought friends." she adds with a frown. "The Greil Mercenaries have a bit of a rep. I'll be honest, if I'd known that's the outfit I was challenging, I'd have given some serious thought to running away back in Caldea. Good news for us it, his gang's bigger than mine, but not a lot tougher. The folks he's got shouldn't be harder to take down than my guys were. Except for Dals. That's probably the guy you saw, Rhys. He's pretty handy with a sword, and he's good looking enough to get people to let their guards down. Don't feel bad, Rhys." she says with a gentle smile. "You're not the first one who thought he wasn't a bad guy."

As Rhys nods his appreciation, Ocsar asks Zawana, "So if he's all about the profit, why is he going after revenge?"

"Well like I said, his crew and mine were friendly. Him and some of his boys would want payback after my crew got wiped out. But besides that, I'd bet he means to send a message to any other merc group that would come after them. Let every group around know that his group isn't to be messed with. Any enemies you can scare off instead of fighting off is money made."

"Unless they come back better prepared." Oscar countered.

Zawana shrugs. "Unless that, yeah. 'course, your average bandit chief like me and Ikanau didn't exactly plan that far ahead. We don't tend to last long enough to. Either we make too big a name for ourselves and draw royal attention, or we operate in some area that can afford to pay for mercenaries like you lot. And that tends to be the end of that crew. And that's not counting the ones that laguz pick off."

"You've been attacked by laguz?" Rhys asks curiously.

"Not my group. We never went that far south. Most bandits I knew didn't like to go that far south. Those cats can do bad bad things to people when they want to." The former bandit grimaces. "You don't have any of those in these parts, do you?"

"Not that live around here, no." Oscar replied. "Unfortunately, most people that live in this part of Crimea still aren't entirely receptive of the laguz."

"Just as well today. We're gonna have enough problems to deal with as it is."

Even though her words were cautionary, Oscar couldn't help but notice that her tone was not. In fact, she didn't appear worried at all. So he chose to be direct and asked her plainly, "Can we win?"

Zawana answered Oscar with a grin. "I'm living proof how tough you guys are. The question isn't 'can we win?', Oscar. It's 'how long is it gonna take?'"

The terrain was against Ike and company in this location. The bandits' camp was located up a rocky hill dotted with thick undergrowth and short pine trees. There was really only way path up the hill, which meant that the Greil Mercenaries had no chance of catching the bandits unaware. In fact, their leader was standing atop a rocky high point when the four mercenaries and their friend came into range. He was a blonde blocky-bodied man whose torso was covered by no armor, only a pair of criss-crossing purple belts. He smirked and shifted the large axe that was resting on his shoulder. "So you showed up, did you boys? And you brought a girl, but not the right one. You must really be underestimating us if you showed up without that snobby red-haired wench. Where is she?"

"Titania's not here." Ike replied, his voice flat. "It's just us. Where are Mist and the others you took?"

"Oh they're fine." Ikanau said lazily. "We got em all locked up nice and safe in that little shack back there. They're not the ones we got a problem with. It's payback we're after. Payback on the redhead and her whelps. That'd be you." he adds, gesturing towards the group with his axe."

"Well then hurry up and let them go!" Boyd shouted. "We're here, aren't we? You've got no reason to hold them anymore!"

"YOU'RE here, but Red ain't. The brats and the girl stay where they are until she gets here."

"Damn you." Ike snarled at the bandit, his hand going to his sword.

"A bit impatient, huh?" Ikanau chuckled. "Well all right. If you're in that much of a hurry, I suppose we can amuse ourselves by killing you before Red gets here. Come on out, boys, time to play!"

At his call, nearly a dozen armed men came running. Quite suddenly Ike and his friends found themselves outnumbered at least two to one. "There's.. so many of them..." Rhys mumbled, color starting to drain from his face.

"Is that all of them?" Oscar asked Zawana quietly.

The woman took a moment to look around at the assembled outlaws, then nodded. "Master of tactics, he isn't. He thinks his boys can kill us before Titania gets here."

"Then we'll have to prove him wrong. Rhys!" he ordered. "Move to the rear. We'll need you ready with your staff in case one of us gets hurt."

"Understood."

Zawana nodded at the healer. "Don't worry about him, Oscar, I'll watch his back."

"Thank you, Zawana."

"Take 'em, lads!" Ikanau crowed, waving his axe at the mercenaries. "Without that red-haired knight they're no match for us!"

Ike draw his iron sword with a flourish. "I'll make you regret those words!" and started up the right path up the hill, towards the retreating Ikanau. Boyd wasted no words or time in following him.

Oscar, meanwhile, headed north towards the two sword wielding bandits on that plateau. Even armed with his normal lance as opposed to the magical one he also had to hand, he had the best weapon to deal with those two men, and his horse would let him catch up to the others more quickly than if they had gone to deal with those two themselves. And speed was of the essence. There had to be more bandits facing Ike and the others than were facing Oscar.

The knight aimed his horse at the closer of the two outlaws and buried his lance in the man's shoulder even as he tried to raise his blade to defend himself. The bandit screamed and took a retaliatory swing at Oscar, but there wasn't a great deal of strength behind it. The rusty sword clanged off of Oscar's greave, failing to do any significant damage. Oscar's return strike drove through the man's chest, and he fell to the dirt once Oscar withdrew the weapon from his body.

The sounds of battle from the other side of the hill flowed across Oscars ears, but he couldn't spare the focus to see who was screaming as the other bandit let loose a howl of his own and charged Oscar, delivering a two-handed blow with his sword to Oscar's side. His armor prevented the sword from striking his body directly, but he could tell from the force of the blow that at least one of his ribs was probably broken. He did his best to ignore that pain for now and tried to find an opening in the bandits' defences. He stabbed out with his lance and caught the man in his gut. A solid blow, but not enough to drop him. And Oscar had another problem as well. A larger bandit was running up towards him from the west. He was obviously slower than the two swordsmen, but he also looked much more muscular, and he carried a broad axe in his hands. That one would be trouble.

"So there _were_ more of you." he muttered.

"Enough to make sure you die here." the bandit growled out despite the would in his stomach.

"We'll see about that." Oscar punctuated his statement with a fierce thrust from his spear, and the weapon emerged from the back of the man's throat. The bandit gurgled out his dying breath before collapsing to the ground. And then Oscar put away his iron lance and drew the Arturain weapon Sthensar had given him. He hadn't wanted to use that weapon in this fight. These bandits had kidnapped his brother, and Oscar wasn't really of a mind to extend his kindness to them. But he needed the best weapon he had to deal with that third man, and he had to deal with him quickly. Ike and Boyd were probably even more outnumbered than he was, and he didn't know if Zawana's skills would be enough to let her defend both Rhys and herself in this situation. He had to get back to them, and quickly, and that meant dispatching this man as quickly as he could.

The axe-wielding bandits' brown eyes narrowed as he saw Oscar draw his magical weapon. Even with the distance separating the two, Oscar could smell the man from here, the acrid scent of a man who bathed all too infrequently. "Fancy spear." the bandit growled out in a low rumble. "That'll put a lot of gold in my pocket once I take your head."

The Greil mercenary wasted no time replying to the bandits' banter. He simply spurred his horse into action and charged the man, levelling his spear for a ride-by attack. The unwashed man raised his axe to try and ward off the blow, but his weapon was nearly as clumsy as he himself was. He managed to deflect Oscar's strike only slightly, and the lance took a bite out of his left bicep but did no significant damage. His horse's momentum kept him going out of the range of the bandit's return strike, though the axe did nick his horse's rump. The trained animal did not react to that pain, only to his riders' commands, and Oscar commanded him to turn in a circle back towards the unwashed man.

The bandit was not content to wait for Oscar to complete his maneuver. He charged forward himself and met Oscar halfway through the knight's turn. Oscar tried to evade the strong swing of his enemies' axe, but he couldn't move his horse laterally enough to get out of the way. The axe struck him full in the side, biting deep into his armor. The man was strong, and solidly built.

But Oscar was a disciplined warrior with many battles under his belt. He'd taken such blows before, faced such foes before, and he knew he could take this one. He knew when to feign being more injured than he was, could gauge what enemies would fall for that trick and leave themselves a little more open to attacks. So when he cried out a little louder than he otherwise might have, he knew the gleam in the smelly bandit's eyes meant the ploy had worked. The bandit's face was just starting to break into a grin when Oscar struck out at him, burying his lance in the man's chest. A look of astonishment crossed the man's face, not just because of the wound, but because of the fact that said wound didn't hurt anywhere near as much as it ought to have. The mystery of a mortal wound that didn't hurt crossed his mind for just a moment before Oscar withdrew the weapon, and the unwashed man fell to the ground.

Only then did Oscar take a moment to pause, leaning over in his saddle. Blood dribbled out from where the man's axe had struck his armor. He looked down at the still form of the bandit. "When you wake up, I hope you choose to use that axe for good." he murmured before straightening himself. He changed weapons against as he set off for the other side of the battlefield. His friends needed him.

What Oscar didn't know was that, while he was dealing with his three bandits, his friends had received reinforcements of a different kind. Riding up from the bottom of the hill came Titania, red hair streaming in the wind, her axe at the ready. She shook her head ruefully when the sounds of battle reached her ears. "I'm sure I told them all to wait for me. I should have known they'd disobey orders. They have no discipline." She was a little surprised to see Oscar with them, and moreso to see Rhys, but not extraordinarily so. Oscar's brother was involved, and Rhys wasn't the sort of man to let his friends run off without helping if he could. Understandable or not, though, they were all in trouble, and Titania was not about to let them stay there for long.

As she rode up the hill towards the eastern side of the battlefield, she was pleased to see that Ike and those with him were not in as much trouble as she had been afraid of. Three bandits had already fallen to their blades, and though Ike and Boyd were both engaged, Ike with a short man with a sword, Boyd with a pudgy fellow with an axe, both mercenaries seemed to be more than holding their own. In fact, as Titania rode towards them, Ike neatly dodged his opponent's stabbing blow, and just as neatly ran the man through. And then there was Zawana. Titania never expected to see the former bandit fighting alongside Ike, but there he was, fending off a black haired man with a large axe, seemingly keeping the bandit away from Rhys while the healer tended to Ike. The bandit was obviously larger and stronger than Zawana, but the woman appeared to have the upper hand. She appeared to have only a small wound on her arm, while the bandit in front of her had had his back laid open by a bladed weapon. Titania also saw that the axe Zawana was wielding was very similar to the one Boyd was given by Sthensar. Most likely it was another Arturian axe. Titania was not entirely happy about that, but this was not the time or the place to argue about it. And if it helped keep Rhys safe, Titania didn't really want to argue about it either.

So Titania adjusted her target. Instead of interfering with Zawana's duel and possibly disrupting her battle flow, she set her target on the fat man fighting Boyd. As she closed the distance, Boyd cried out in pain and staggered back, obviously having been unable to dodge the blow the axeman had thrown at him. "That's the last blow you land on one of my people." she cried out as her horse jumped over a large rock, coming down within striking range of the bandit. The fat man barely had time to turn his head before Titania had removed it with her axe.

"Deputy commander!" Rhys cried in shock.

"Never mind that, help Boyd!" she ordered him.

As Rhys stammered out a yes, Ike turned towards his superior. He seemed a bit recalcitrant. "Titania. I... I'm sorry. I ran off without thinking-"

"We'll talk about that later." Titania promised him, though her tone was not accusatory. "Right now we have more important things to do. Keep your mind on the battle, Ike."

"Yes ma'am!" He pointed his sword up the hill towards the last group of foes. "Their leader is the tall one with dark blonde hair."

"He's mine." Boyd growled as Rhys finished his healing spell. "Nobody messes with my little brother."

The word brother reminded Ike of something. He'd lost track of one of his group. He asked Titania, "Where's Oscar?"

"Right here." came the answer from the west. Oscar had caught up with them while they'd been talking, and Zawana had joined him, her opponent lying in a heap on the ground a dozen or so feet away. "We don't have to worry about attacks from the rear."

"Don't relax yet, though." Zawana cautioned. "Ikanau's gonna be coming at us now with the rest of his gang, and they're gonna be real mad once they see the mess we made."

"Let them." Ike said grimly. "It won't change the outcome." And he turned and started up the hill, charging right at a thin bandit carrying a sword. Boyd and Zawana were right behind him.

Oscar, though, lingered with Titania for a moment while Rhys applied his healing magic's to Oscar's wound. "He fights well, deputy commander."

"Perhaps. But that won't do him any good if he gets himself killed. Yah!" She took off after the three fighters on foot.

Including Zawana himself, there were six of the bandits remaining. They had come down to meet the mercenaries at a narrow point of the battlefield, between a small cliff and a thick line of trees. The man Ike was squaring off with was a sharp change from his comrades. His countenance was a handsome one, his thin sword and leather armor well maintained, his long black hair tied back in a simple pony tail. Ike narrowed his eyes as he stood across from the man. "You must be the one who delivered that letter to Rhys."

The raven-haired bandit bowed slightly. "And you must be the little girl's brother. She seemed confidant that you'd be coming."

"And here I am. And if you're smart, you'll get out of my way."

"You don't scare me, merc." the man replied with a smirk. "And you better not underestimate me. I'm much more than a pretty face."

"Don't say I didn't warn you." Ike raised his sword and ran at the man, who raised his rapier to meet the overhand strike Ike swung at him. The two blades struck and Ike was surprised by the strength of the bandit's steel. He didn't think a thin blade like that would be as firm as it was, but it did not give an inch as it met Ike's iron blade.

Ike struck out again, a horizontal strike aimed at the bandit's ribs. This time the lightly armored man stepped back out of range of the blow and then stepped back in again, thrusting his rapier forward and stabbing Ike in his left shoulder. Ike swore and took a step back. This man wasn't boasting. That blow wasn't the random flailing of an untrained outlaw.

The green-armored bandit brandished his rapier before him with a flourish. "You'll have to do better than that do beat Dals."

Ike took a breath and steadied himself. The man may have been good, but he'd only landed one blow. Not enough to decide the fight. Not even enough to decide which one was the better fighter. Perhaps this Dals was better trained than the other bandits, but Ike had, as far as he was concerned, the best trainer in the world. He could beat this man, he was sure of it. He just didn't know how long it would take, and the longer he duelled with Dals, the more time the other bandits had to hurt his comrades. Or the hostages. So he put away his mundane sword and drew the Arturian blade.

"If you think a fancy sword is all it will take to defeat me, you're sorely underestimating me."

Dals boasted as he stepped forward again, brandishing his rapier. The rapier danced in the air, but Ike met the strike this time with his magical sword, sending sparks into the air. The Arturian blade was lighter than his iron sword, better able to keep up with Dals' light sword. As if to illustrate the point, Ike deflected another blow from the bandit and struck back at him, the Arturian weapon cutting through Dals' leather armor and into his torso. To his credit, Dals maintained his composure and used the opportunity to strike at Ike as well, stabbing his rapier into the mercenaries' leg.

The two men separated again, both breathing a little more heavily. "You aren't just some random sellsword, are you?" Dals asked, genuinely curious.

"And I don't think you're some random kidnapper." Ike shot back.

"I had a life before this." Dals admits. "But I guess that doesn't matter." He nodded at Ike's weapon. "Where'd you get a sword that doesn't hurt?"

"Does that matter, either?"

Dals smirked. "I'd like to know the story of the sword that's about to be mine."

The bandits' smugness sparked fury in Ike, and the mercenary charged again, able to ignore the pain on his leg. Although Ike was angry, he didn't let that anger cloud his judgement or his battle instincts. As Dals readied his weapon again, Ike observed that the man had a habit of putting most of his weight on his left foot. So he kept one eye on that foot, watching it to see which direction the man would counterattack from. As Ike closed in, Dals shifted, and Ike was ready. He fended off the thrust aimed at his chest and struck back in the same motion, a fluid strike that slashed open Dals' armor and cut him to the breastbone. The handsome bandit screamed, more out of habit and surprise than actual pain, and lashed out at Ike. His strike lacked some of his usual grace, but was still able to connect, cutting deeply into Ike's cheek. Not wanted to surrender the advantage, Ike pressed forward, swing his blade in an upward arc, and while Dals was able to back away slightly, Ike's sword was still able to cut into the bandits' body again, forming an almost X-shaped wound on his chest. Dals gaped at the sword wounds on his chest, seemingly unable to comprehend how the wounds did not hurt, did not bleed. "That's not possible..." he managed to breathe before toppling over backwards. Ike eyed the bandit for a moment, but there was no sign of breath or movement. The man was- Ike almost thought 'dead', but then he glanced down at the Arturian sword that had done all the damage. Dals wasn't dead. In fact, he would soon be a very different person.

Even with his limited experience, Ike knew that in this kind of environment, with two sides of a battle converging on a natural choke point, that an uninterrupted one on one duel like he'd just had was something of a rarity, so with Dals dealt with, he looked around to see where the rest of his friends were. His friends had the situation well in hand. Oscar had already defeated a swordsman and was fending off the somewhat clumsy attacks of another, and Boyd and Zawana were presently ganging up on the last axe-carrying bandit. The fifth man was already down, likely killed by Titania, who had run up past the group and was now standing before Ikanau. The bandit chief, despite the slaughter of his people, was chuckling at the sight of Titania.

"So you finally showed up. I've been waiting for you, you red-haired demoness. I'm going to make you hurt, BAD. For my mates here and in Caldea!"

"No matter your reasons, you've taken innocent victims as hostages." Titania replied flatly. "You are not even fit to be called human." She levelled her axe at the bandit chief. "May the blessings of the goddess be kept from you for all eternity."

"Titania, wait!" Ike called out to her. "I want to fight him."

"Ike-"

"He took my sister." Ike interrupted his superior. "I want a piece."

"Suits me fine, boy." Ikanau sneered. "I can pay you back for my mates before I deal with your boss."

"Fine. But first, will you let the hostages go?" Ike asked him. "Titania's here now, there's no reason for you to hold them anymore."

Ikanau nodded. "Sure, they can go." He grinned an evil grin. "IF you can beat me!" And then the bandit charged at Ike. The mercenary braced himself to receive the attack. He had no doubt that Ikanau was physically stronger than he, but Ike had just defeated a rather skilled swordsman. He could take Ikanau.

If Titania would let him. She fingered her bloodied axe as Ikanau ran at Ike, but chose, for the moment, not to raise it. Something in his voice, his body language, told Titania something. Ike seemed to need to do this, not just because his sister was involved. So she would give Ike a chance. But she would also be ready. This would _not_ be the day he was going to die.

Despite everything that had happened today, Ikanau was still overconfident in his ability to kill the mercenaries, and Ike knew how best to exploit that in the reckless charge the bandit chief had embarked on. When the blonde man drew close, Ike adroitly sidestepped around the bandit, spinning as he did so. Ikanau's wild axe stroke missed by a mile, while Ike's agile maneuver brought his sword down across Ikanau's back and ribs. The bandit staggered under the force of the blow. Arturian weapons didn't inflict pain, but they did still transmit the force of impact. Ikanau spun back towards Ike. "You're quick, boy, but you're not strong."

"Then come at me again, and see how hard I can hit again."

Ike's confidence finally cracked Ikanau's cockiness, and the bandit chief snarled, "Oh, I'm going to enjoy smashing that mouth in." He then accepted Ike's invitation and charged the young mercenary again. He didn't carry a full head of steam this time, though, as he was expecting Ike to try and duplicate his earlier evasive maneuver, to use his speed to get the better of the larger man.

This time, though, Ike stayed his ground, and the defiance of his expectations threw Ikanau off his game. When he swung at Ike, he didn't have his full strength behind the attack. As a result, Ike was able to raise his sword and deflect the strike away from his body. Before Ikanau could pull his axe back in, Ike slashed at the bandit, and Ikanau pulled away with a long slash across his belly. "Damn you!" he cursed Ike.

Ike gripped his sword with both hands. "You came after the wrong family." And he stepped forward and thrust his sword forward, running the bandit chief through.

Ikanau tried to raise his axe one more time, but he found his arms had no strength. His weapon dropped to the ground as Ike withdrew his sword from his body. "This can't be..." Ikanau gasped out. "I don't... I don't deserve to lose to sellswords like you."

"You underestimated me, kidnapper. Your mistake." The mercenary watched Ikanau fall and waited until he saw the bandit's head loll over before he sheathed his sword and took a deep breath. "We did it, somehow."

"'Somehow', nothing!" Boyd crowed triumphantly. "We did it 'cuz we were better than them!"

The look on Titania's face brought the two men up short "What you DID, gentleman, was directly defy the orders I gave you. You put yourselves in unnecessary danger. How things turned out is irrelevant compared to that."

Ike lowered his head while Boyd bit his lip. Titania's admonishment stole away the thrill of victory very quickly. Oscar then rode up the hill to stand next to his brother. "I accept full responsibility for the breaking of your orders, deputy commander." he said formally. "I was unable to maintain discipline."

"We're very sorry, Titania." Rhys added.

The red haired knight sighed and shook her head. "Oscar, Boyd... What am I going to do with you? I suppose I'll have to let the commander deal with you all. He'll know how to handle this mess. Now let's find Mist and the others."

Oscar said, "The bandit's leader told us that they were in that shack-" Before Oscar could finish, a pair of feminine screams came from farther up the hill.

"That was Mist!" Ike cried as he took off up the hill, followed almost immediately by the others, the matter of discipline to come at least temporarily forgotten.

When the group reached the shack, they saw that they had missed one of the bandits. This one was a muscular brunette, and he, along with Mist, Rolf and the woman that had been taken with this, were standing in front of the run-down looking shack. The bandit was holding the woman with one hand and the other one was on his axe. "Let me go, you brute!" the woman screamed at him.

"Shut up, just shut up, wench!" the bandit snarled at her, shaking his axe at her.

"Let us go!" Mist pleaded with him. "Just let us go."

"Mist!" Ike cried as he skidded to a halt.

The little girl's eyes widened as she saw her brother and her friends running up. "Brother! Everyone! You came!"

"I knew I heard fighting." the woman said as she turned her defiant eyes towards the bandit holding her. "You're a dead man."

The scarred bandit stuck his axe into the woman's face. "And you'll die if you don't shut your mouth." he promised her.

Ike took a step forward, his sword coming into his hand. "If you harm any of them, I'll have you dead!"

"Shut your stinkin' trap, you damn sellsword!" The bandit pulled the woman closer to him, and pressed his axe against her throat. "Throw down your weapons, all of you! If you don't..."

"You miserable-!" Boyd began, but stopped in mid-roar when he saw his brother start to weep. "Hey, Rolf! Stop your crying, we'll get you out of this mess!"

"Forget me." the woman being held hostage demanded of the assembled mercenaries. "Just save the children."

Ike and Zawana yelled almost in unison, "Forget THAT."

"Alright, fine." the bandit growled, his grip tightening on his axe. "If you want to die that badly-"

"Wait!" Titania cried, and punctuated her yell by dropping her axe to the ground. "I'm dropping my weapons, like you asked." She followed by removing her spare weapon, a heavy steel axe, and dropping that to the ground as well.

A little nervously, the bandit chuckled. "Yeah. Smart move, wench."

"Titania, what are you doing?" Mist whined.

"We're here to save you all, Mist." Titania said gently, then glanced behind her. "Now stand down, all of you."

Not one of the rest of her group looked happy about her command at all. There were muttered sounds of anger and frustration, until Oscar dropped both of his weapons to the ground. "You're right, deputy commander." he said.

"Yeah..." Zawana muttered as she followed suit. Ike cursed softly, then, with obviously reluctance, laid his swords down.

"Fine, fine." Boyd snapped, throwing his axe down. "Happy now?" he spat at the bandit hiding behind the captive woman.

The scarred man laughed once more. "Okay, good. So, you're all unarmed now." The man violently pushed his captive woman away from him, and she stumbled to the ground. His face twisted in an almost maniacal grin. "So that means, all of you get to watch me gut this mewling little brat like a pig!" he cried as he turned towards the sniffling Rolf. The child's eyes went wide with dread as the bandit raised his axe over his head, cackling like a lunatic. Mist, the hostage woman and the mercenaries all scream in panic and horror as the axe-wielding man flexes his arm to deliver that fatal blow. A sickening crunch filled the air as blew flew.

The blood, however, did not come from Rolf, but from the bandit's head. A steel-tipped arrow had sprouted from between the man's eyes. Two short breaths escaped the bandit's mouth before the strength leaves his body at once, and he falls over, very dead. As he does so, though, Rolf falls as well. The sense of surprise that the assembled good guys felt at the sight of the bandit's death was washed away in a tide of panic at the sight of Rolf collapsing. Mist was the first one at his side. "Rolf! Can you hear me?"

"Rolf!" Boyd howled as he scrabbled up the incline, falling to his knees before his younger brother. "Rolf... Mist, is he-?"

The young woman shook her head. "He's fine, Boyd. Perfectly fine. He's just fainted, that's all. See? Not even a scratch on him."

Boyd sagged as though his spine had slipped out. "Thanks be..." He smiled ruefully at his little brother. "Don't DO that to me, buddy. Damn near had a heart attack."

"I'm just glad you're all safe." Oscar said as he walked up to stand behind Boyd, smiling for the first time since they'd left the fort. "You're both very brave."

The smile Mist gave him in reply was a lovely sight. "I knew you'd find us. Thanks, Oscar."

Meanwhile, Ike and Titania were investigating the body of the dead bandit. The arrow that had ended his life was what could only be described as a perfect shot. "Where did this arrow come from? Who could have shot it?"

"A single arrow, right between the eyes?" came a mocking voice from the trees to the east. "Who else could have made that shot?" A cocky man in a green tunic carrying a bow sauntered down the faint trail leading into the woods. "Nobody, that's who."

"Shinon!"

"What, no 'thank you's', kids?" Shinon drawled, slinging his bow over his shoulder as a repeating clinking sound came from the path behind Shinon. "I just saved the day here."

A figure in heavy blue armor carrying a lance emerged from the trees behind Shinon, breathing laboriously. "Deputy commander... Shinon... You're both so... so cruel..." the heavy knight puffed. "You know I can't... can't run that fast in this armor..."

"Gatrie!" Rhys exclaimed. He looked at Titania. "Is that what you were doing before you joined us, deputy commander?"

"Of course. I had a feeling we'd need reinforcements before this was over. Though I must admit I do wish we hadn't needed them under these circumstances. Your timing was excellent, Shinon."

The cocky man shrugged indifferently. "I got to feather someone. It was worth my time."

Titania breathed a short sigh, used to Shinon's attitude by now. She simply said, "Good work, both of you."

"Even though... all I did was, was sweat?" Gatrie panted, grinning at Titania as he pulled off his helmet.

The red-haired knight obliged Gatrie with a light laugh. "Even then, Gatrie."

"Brother!" Mist cried jubilantly, flying into Ike's arms.

Ike gently rubbed Mist's hair. "Mist... You did well, Mist. I know you must have been frightened."

"Nuh-uh!" Mist answered, shaking her head energetically. "I never stopped believing, not for a second. I knew you and the others would come save us, I just knew it!"

"She was really very brave, Ike." the woman taken hostage said as Zawana helped her to her feet. "I hate to admit it, but I wasn't sure we were going to get out of there in one piece. But Mist kept telling us that her brother and Rolf's brothers were coming. And that," she added, glancing back at Zawana, "you'd be coming for me."

"Damn straight I would." Zawana replied, draping her arm over he fellow former bandit's shoulders. "Turns out that's the kind of girl I am."

What he was hearing made Ike even more proud of his sister. But that didn't mean he wasn't above a little teasing. "Really? That's a real improvement over your usual nose-runny weepyness."

"You jerk!" Mist wailed, smacking her brother in the stomach. "I... My nose does NOT run!"

"If you say so." Mist glared at her brother for a moment more, before his bemused grin brought a smile to the girl's face, and the siblings shared a laugh.

"Can we go home now?" Shinon asked. "I could use a drink."

"Not just yet." said Oscar as he remounted his horse. "There's still one loose end we need to tie up." He nodded back down the hill, towards the fallen forms of Ikanau and his crew. "What do we do with the ones we defeated with the Arturian weapons?"

"We leave 'em here." Boyd answered quickly. "These bastards kidnapped Rolf and Mist and... What's your name?" he asked the woman standing next to Zawana.

The blonde woman looked at Mist when she said, "Neige. Mist gave it to me."

Ike thought for a moment. That name rang a bell. "Neige? Isn't that from that story you used to make me read to you years ago?"

Mist's cheeks puff defiantly. "I never MADE... Yes, it's from _that_ story." she finishes with a sigh.

Boyd nodded. "Neige. These creeps kidnapped our family and friends. I say we just leave 'em here to work themselves out."

"I think I agree." Ike says. "I'm not in a hurry to have these three walking around the fort. I'd have a hard time forgetting that they took my sister."

"Four, actually." Oscar informs him. "I had to use my Arturian lance on one of the ones I fought on the other side of this rock wall. And I don't feel any particular responsibility towards those four either. However, there is at least one among them I'd like to take back with us, if it's who I think it is. Zawana. That swordsman in the green armor, the one that Ike defeated. Was that the Dals you mentioned on the way here?

Zawana nodded. "Yeah, that was him. Nice job beating him, by the way, Ike, I know he was no slouch. But how do you know him, Oscar? How's a straight arrow mercenary like you hear about a thug like Dals?"

"He wasn't always a thug, Zawana." the green-haired knight says as he climbs back on his horse. "I only ever saw him once, back when I was still with the Crimean Royal Knights."

"He was one of the Knights?" Titania asked, shocked.

"No, he was just an army regular. But I remember one of my trainers pointing him out to me, one way when his unit and mine were on the field together. She said that was a unique one, the only man of his group to use a rapier instead of an edged sword. And that he was pretty good with it, too."

"So how'd he end up out here, running with a bandit crew?" Boyd asked him.

"He ended up leaving the army after an... incident." Oscar says hesitantly. "I never found out exactly what his role in it was. I was hoping to have a chance to ask him, especially after hearing more than one of my superiors talk about how he could have been a Royal Knight."

Titania hummed thoughtfully, considering Oscar's request. After some thought, she turned to the two former bandits standing with them. "You've been where these bandits are, Zawana, Neige. What do you think we should do with them?"

Neige pulls a strand of her blonde hair out of her eyes as she looked back over her shoulder at Rolf. "If it was up to me, my lady, I'd leave them here, too. I understand what they're going to go through, but they wronged you in a very personal way. You owe them nothing."

"They wronged you, too." Gatrie reminded her.

"Yeah, but that doesn't matter compared to what they did to Mist and Rolf. Especially what that last one tried to to do Rolf. I'm grateful for the kindness you've all shown me, but you shouldn't feel obliged to extend it to these people."

"She's got a point." Zawana agrees with a nod. "You've given some of these bandits a second crack at life, but that doesn't mean you're responsible for starting them off on it. And besides, there's no way to know if they'll turn out like we did. I mean, you all haven't had any trouble from my crew, but Ikanau's bunch might be different."

Titania appeared to have been swayed by the words of Ikanau and Neige, but then Mist stepped forward. "Excuse me, Titania?"

"Yes, Mist?"

"So, if I understand what you've all been saying, some of the bandits you just fought are... Um..." She struggled for the right words for a moment before finally settling on. "Going to turn out like Neige?"

Titania laughs quietly. "I suppose you could put it that way, yes."

"Then, maybe we should take them back with us." More than one of the assembled adults gasp in surprise at Mists' words. The young woman, though, smiles at Neige and Zawana. "I haven't known Neige for very long, but she's my friend. She tried to protect us from those bandits when they came for us. And Zawana came with you all, fought alongside you all. And you got hurt doing it, too." Mist pointed out.

"Well, not that badly." Zawana replied, though she made no effort to hide the cuts on her left leg and sternum. "But Mist, that doesn't mean Ikanau and his bunch'll be the same way."

"But we don't know they WON'T be, either. And if they lost their memory like Neige did, can we just leave them here by themselves?"

"Damn straight we can." Shinon spits. "And we should. And I am. Come on, Gatrie, let's get out of here." With that, the archer starts to stalk down the hill back towards the main road. The heavily armored Gatrie spares nod towards Titania before he moves after his friend, clanking all the way.

Mist sends a sour look after Shinon. "Well I don't think so. I mean, they're not really the same people that kidnapped us anymore. Are they?"

The mercenaries looked between each other before, one by one, they all looked towards Zawana and Neige. "No." Titania said. "No, I suppose they're not." The deputy commander shrugged. "All right, Mist. If that's how you feel, then we'll take these four back with us. On one condition." she added, raising her finger and giving Mist a challenging smile. "You can explain to the commander that it was your idea."

Mist smiled. "Deal."


	3. Chapter 2-B

Boyd and had left the mountain, carrying the still unconscious Rolf back home. Mist had wanted to stay, but Ike had insisted she go back home with the two adults. Neige had gone with them, after appropriating a sword from one of the fallen bandits. This time, she had said, she'd be ready to defend the kids if something went wrong.

That left Ike, Titania, Rhys, Oscar and Zawana to deal with the bandits that had fallen to the Arturian weapons. Oscar went to deal with the muscular axe-carrying bandit he had beaten while Rhys and Titania went off to deal with the bandit Zawana had defeated while defending him. As the three mercenaries moved past her, the bandit Dals began to stir. Her black hair had come loose from its ponytail and was even longer than it was before he met Ike. He had been a handsome man, but now she was an even more handsome woman. "Well that's not fair." Zawana grumbled halfheartedly.

"What's not fair?" Ike asked her.

The former bandit pointed at Dals. "Well, I turned out halfway pretty, but she's full-on pretty. How fair's that?" She rubs the bridge of her nose with her free hand. "Bloody sword of yours didn't even fix my nose."

"Sorry?" said Ike uncertainly.

Zawana waved her hand. "Bah. Probably shouldn't complain, considering the alternative." she mused as Dals began to sit up.

"Take it easy." Ike cautioned her as he extended his hand out to her. "You've had a... bit of a shock."

Seemingly on instinct, Dals reaches up to take Ike's hand, but that contact makes her head snap up. The lethargy gripping her body left at once. "I know you." she whispered. "I know you. You... You did this to me."

Ike winced faintly. "I did." The unarmed woman sighed and nodded lazily, only then allowing Ike to help her to her feet.

"I remember. I remember, and yet..." Dals turned away from Ike and began to walk slowly, pausing, walking again even more slowly. "It's different now. I'm different. You changed me."

Again Ike said, "I did." Dals' hands explore her hair, her face, her chest and stomach, and Ike winced again. "I suppose I did that, too." The black haired woman stops her self-examination and looks around, moving towards her rapier after laying eyes upon it. Ike tensed, wondering if he should ready his sword. She claimed to remember her past life, like Zawana did, but Ike didn't know if Dals would react more aggressively than Zawana had. He was confidant he could win again if Dals came at him, but he also didn't really want to have to fight the woman, for more than one reason.

Dals scooped her rapier off the ground, but didn't turn back on Ike. She simply stared at the weapon, at her reflection in it. "That's what the sword does." Zawana tells her.

"Then Dals is dead." the black-haired woman says, not asking a question but making a statement. "I thought... I used to think it would be the Knights that would get me. That even though I was just a bandit now, they'd come after me, because I got away from them. But for this..."

"It's a lot to take in." Zawana said with a knowing nod. "Believe me, girl, I know."

"So Dals is dead." the bandit said again, this time more certainly. Then she turns to look back at Ike and Zawana. This is not a hint of recrimination or anger on her face. In fact, if Ike had to describe the look on her face, he would have to use the word 'hopeful'. "And I.. have another chance now. Right?"

Zawana nodded. "That's right. A chance not to do what you did before. To make up for it, if you want to."

Dals tilted her head at Zawana. "Are you...?"

She nodded. "Yeah. I used to be a bandit, too. Bandit chief, actually." She smiled, a bitter smile. "You might remember me. I used to be Zawana."

The shock on Dals' face makes Ike surprised she didn't drop her sword. "Zawana? You mean... We thought you were dead! At Caldea."

"Any other mercenary group had come for me, I would have been." She held her arm out towards me. "But I didn't fall to just any old sword. The same sword Ike here used to beat you beat me as well. Matter of fact, that woman you guys kidnapped used to be one of my crew, too."

"You're serious?"

"Very serious. Only thing is, she doesn't remember her old life. Didn't even remember her name. You and me are different, we remembered who we were."

"And we don't know why." Ike added. "We don't know everything about these weapons yet ourselves. We know what they do, and a bit about how they do it, but we don't know why they effect people differently."

"Just a moment." Dals interjected, holding up her hand. "I just want to make sure I understand something here. You- Your name was Ike?"

"I am."

Dals smiled. "Ike." she repeats, trying out the sound. "Ike, you fought Zawana and her crew at Caldea and beat them, right?" At his nod, she continues "So how did you and Zawana end up fighting together today?"

"After the fight was over, when we realized what our weapons had done to Zawana and the four others that had been transformed, we took them back to our base with us. We talked about it, and we all felt that we had a responsibility towards them. We'd changed them- At the time we didn't even know that was going to happen. We knew our weapons had magical properties, but we didn't know what would happen to the people we killed with them. So we took them back to our fort until we could make sense of the situation."

"But before we'd come to any kind of conclusion," he continued, his tone darkening, "you and your group kidnapped Mist, Rolf and Neige. I took off as soon as I got the news. I didn't even know Zawana was with us until we were almost here. I never had the chance to ask her why." He turn turned his attention towards Zawana. "I suppose I'll ask now."

"Simple, kid." the former bandit chief replied easily. "'cuz it was the right thing to do. Oh, don't look so surprised." she said as Ike gaped. "That sword of yours didn't just give me tits, it gave me back my conscience. Besides, Ike, I owe you." she added more seriously. "Whether or not you knew about that sword's powers, the fact is that you could have killed me back at Caldea, but you didn't. Thanks to you, I've got a second chance at life. And with better looks to go with it." she added with a grin. "Now how was I supposed to just let you run off headlong into deathtrap without trying to help you? That's not the kind of girl I am."

"And it's not the kind of woman I am, either." Dals said as she sheathed her sword. "I, too, feel that I owe you, Ike. More than you know. The truth is I hated my life. I hated myself. I hated that I fell in with a gang of outlaws and kidnappers and killers, but I didn't think I had anywhere else to go. But you've changed that." The dark haired woman crossed the grass to stand before Ike. "I expected to die one day, miserable and alone. But you've taken that away. 'Dals' is dead. I don't even want to be called that anymore. Call me Dallas now."

Ike nodded. "Dallas. But you're wrong, both of you. You don't owe me anything."

He started to say something more, but Dallas interrupted him, "At the very least, Ike, I owe you an apology. The girl, Mist. That was your sister, wasn't she?"

"Yes, she is."

"I was the one that kidnapped her. I approached her and the other two and got them to relax so that we could take them." The former bandit raised her chin, but there was sadness in her eyes. "I deserved to die for that."

"If you're offering me your life, Dallas, forget it." Ike told her harshly. "I may be a mercenary, but I'm not a murderer. Besides, even if I _did_ want to kill you, and I really don't, Mist would never forgive me if I did."

Confusion stole the sadness from Dallas' face. "What do you mean?"

"She's already forgiven you. As a matter of fact, she asked me to take you and the others changed by our weapons back to our base with us."

The dark haired woman stood in stunned silence for a moment, then her face contorted and she began to weep.

"Hey! Wha..." Ike stammered until Zawana laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I think I understand. Come on, Ike, let's give him a minute."

"You understood what that was all about?" Ike asked as he allowed Zawana to lead him away, towards the currently rising Ikanau.

"I think so, anyway. After all, I was where she is now. I can imagine how I'd feel if it was one of the Caldea villagers I'd heard had forgiven me. Or anyone else I've stolen from back when I was a man. Pretty good chance I'd cry, too. Let's just give her a minute."

Ike seemed a little uncertain, but as he couldn't think of a reason to refute what Zawana was saying, he simply nodded and began to remove his cloak. "Hot out here?" Zawana asked him.

Ike shook his head. "It's for her." he says, nodding at the now sitting up Ikanau. The bandit chief hadn't been wearing a shirt before, only a pair of belts across his torso. Now she was wearing even less, as Ike had cut through one of those belts during his duel with Ikanau. Her new body wasn't as generously endowed as Zawana's, but it was still very obviously female.

Zawana nodded in understanding. "I forgot about that. Let's mention that to Sthensar when we get back." she suggested as Ike offered his cloak, the only spare clothing he had available to offer, to Ikanau. "If these weapons of his are gonna turn men into women, it'd be considerate of them to give us some clothes to go with it."

Normally Ike was a very reserved man, but there was something about what Zawana said, the way she said it, that struck him as enormously funny. Despite himself, he found himself laughing without any reservation. Zawana stared at him for a moment before grinning. "Well it WOULD."

"I suppose it would." Ike manages to say, still chuckling. Getting himself back under control, he extends his cloak to Ikanau, who had been massaging her head with her hand. "How are you feeling?"

"Strange..." the blonde woman murmured. "And a bit cold." She looks up at Ike and accepts the extended cloak. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

The topless woman wrapped the cloak tightly around her as she looked up at Ike. "I don't understand why I'm... not dead."

"The sword I used against you doesn't kill. Well, not in the usual sense of the word." Ike corrects himself. "It changes people."

"People... My people." Ikanau said with a start, her head darting back and forth. "Where are... my people..." Her voiced died when she saw the men Oscar, Boyd and Titania had slain on their way to confront Ikanau himself. She looked back up at Ike, a pleading question in her eyes. Zawana caught on to what Ikanau was thinking a bit quicker than Ike did, and shook her head solemnly, as though to tell her 'Not them'. The questioning in her eyes turned to tears in a blink, and the former bandit chief began to weep.

The sight of Ikanau crying came as a surprise to Ike, though he quickly realized that it should not have. People wept when those they cared for perished. And even though Ikanau had been a bad man, he had shown in his words that he had cared for the lives of his fellow outlaws. Whether that care was being expressed in a different way now that Ikanau was a woman, or whether he would have done this had he won, Ike didn't know. He didn't really need to know right now. What mattered at this moment was that someone who had just been given a second chance at life had been hurt. Hurt by him. "Why me?" he heard Ikanau manage to say through her tears. "Why not them? Why me?" Although Ike could have answered, he realized that nothing he could say to her would make any difference right now. Her people were dead, and unlike Dallas, they weren't coming back.

The young man knew that he didn't have the words for Ikanau right now, so he merely laid his hand on the former bandit leader's shoulder as comfortingly as possible. Ike had done what he had to to save his sister, save the people he cared about. Still, he said to Zawana, as the woman turned her head up to look at him, "I'm sorry."

Ikanau pulled herself closer to Ike and embraced his fiercely as she cried for her fallen comrades. The young man knew he was not the most compassionate man in the world, nor was he the most sensitive, but he did what he could to comfort the weeping woman.

Coming up the hill came Titania and Rhys, accompanied by the black-haired woman they had gone to check on. They all paused when they saw the situation above them. Rhys did his best to explain what was happening to the former bandit, while Titania merely looked on the young son Greil and smiled a mysterious smile. More than even the skill displayed by Ike on the battlefield today, the man's kindness made Titania very happy.

In the end, Dallas was the only one of the former bandits to leave the hill with the Greil Mercenaries. Ikanau refused to leave her former comrades without giving them a decent burial, and even once that had been done, she didn't think she wanted to spend time around the people that had killed them. At least, not yet. The other two bandits had lost their memories of their previous lives, but they saw that Ikanau cared for them, and chose to stay with her. Even though Ikanau had asked, almost pleaded with Dallas to stay, the rapier-wielding woman refused. Her desire to stay with the mercenaries, Ike in particular, could not be swayed.

On the way back to the mercenaries' fort, Dallas peppered Titania and Oscar with questions about the Greil Mercenaries and their work. It was fairly obvious that she wanted to join their ranks, even if she didn't come right out and ask. As deputy commander, Titania did have the authority to offer potential new members a place among their ranks, but the final decision ultimately fell upon Commander Greil. Dallas appeared willing to accept his judgement.

Despite his earlier stated curiosity among Dallas history, Oscar refrained from asking her about it during the return trip. This came as no surprise to Titania. She knew Oscar was a thoughtful man. In his mind, he was not sure Dallas would be comfortable talking about a darker part of his past out in the open like this, around people she didn't know. He would be willing to wait until the right opportunity came along.

The one wearing the surprised expression was Zawana, and really had been since they had left. "You seemed surprised when Ikanau refused to come back with us." Ike remarked to her as he walked with her and Rhys.

"I was. Still am. I guess I just thought... Well, when you used those weapons of yours on me and my crew, all of us felt like we owed you all something. For not just killing us, for giving us another chance. Both. I guess I just figured Ikanau and his crew would feel the same way after they woke up, memories or not."

"I didn't know that the red-haired lady felt that way." Rhys says thoughtfully. "She seemed to me to be..."

"Ornery?" Zawana suggested as Rhys was fishing for the right word. "I can understand that. She doesn't say much, even to us. She doesn't like conversation, I think is the issue there. If she didn't like you, I don't think she'd have stuck around."

Rhys nods, accepting that. "You didn't really owe us anything, though, Zawana."

The woman gives him a wry grin. "You might feel different if you were the one expecting to die and then waking up healthy instead. But I suppose that was just us. And Dallas, too."

Ike nods. "Good."

"Good? Why good?"

Ike glances down at the sheathed Arturian weapon at his side. "I was a bit worried about this sword. There's still a lot we don't know about them, I think. When father, Titania and I were talking to Sthensar about them, I started to wonder if these weapons might not do something as simple as 'turn bad people good', like Sthensar said. Like maybe when you use these weapons to defeat someone, that person becomes your servant or something."

"What, you're afraid I'm gonna start calling you 'master'?" says Zawana with an amused grin on her face.

Ike seemed uncomfortable at the idea. "A little."

"Aw, that's cute." Zawana chortles as she throws a friendly arm across Ike's shoulders. "Well quit worryin' about it, kid. I helped ya out today because I wanted to. Was the right thing to do. And if those weapons of yours made people your slaves, then Miranda, at least, would've come along with me. She was worried about Oscar, ya know. But she didn't. She's her own woman. And so am I." She shrugs slightly. "'course, since I only _been_ a woman for a day or so, maybe I don't know exactly what kind of woman I am. But it's my discovery to make."

Rhys nodded. "Well said, Zawana."

"Thanks, kid." She laughed. "Maybe I'm a poet now?" she said with a grin before laughing again. Once she was finished, she gave Ike a smile. "All jokes aside, though, thanks for worrying, Ike. You're a nice guy. Now that I think about it, I think this is actually a first."

"What's a first? Someone calling me nice?"

"No, no, not that. Someone worrying about me. I don't think that ever happened before."

"Not even your parents?" Rhys asked.

"ParenT. Never knew my mother, she died after I was born. And dad was a drunk. It was not what you'd call an overly happy home."

Rhys gave Zawana a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."

"It doesn't matter anymore. That's the past, Rhys. And the old Zawana's past at that. My past starts with you guys. Where I go from here, I don't know." She threw her other arm around Rhys's shoulders, drawing both men into her embrace. "I do know that I'm off to a hell of a better start."

There was a figure waiting for the group at the front entrance to the mercenary's fort, sitting astride a pale black horse. It was Miranda, who seemed as at home on that horse as she did on Oscar's mount earlier as she rode out to meet the group. She was smiling brightly when she rode out to meet them, though even Ike noticed her smile broaden a little when she saw Oscar's face. "You're all safe." she said by way of greeting.

Ike nodded. "Shouldn't Mist or Rolf have told you that?"

"Well they did, but I.."

"Was still worried?" Zawana finished when Miranda trailed off. The blue-haired woman flushed slightly and nodded.

"Has Commander Greil returned yet?" Titania asked her.

"No, ma'am, not yet."

"Mm. At this point, he most likely won't return until tomorrow." She looked over her troops. "Your discipline, then, will be delayed until his return. Until then, you are free to do as you please, but do not leave the fort."

All four men replied with a nod and an affirmative. Miranda, however, replied with confusion. "Discipline? What do you mean?"

"It's nothing that concerns you." Titania says. "It is a matter for the commander to settle."

"But you discipline someone when they do something wrong. Oscar and the others haven't done anything wrong." Miranda protests.

"I'm afraid that's not entirely true, Miranda." says Zawana. "They ran off after they'd been ordered to stay put. You were there, you heard what Rhys said. Now I know what you're thinking, and I'm with you, it was understandable. They did it for family. But they still did it after their boss told them not to. And their commander has to at least talk to them about it. Right, deputy commander?"

The red-haired woman inclined her head. "Correct. I am pleased you understand, Zawana."

"I was a boss myself. I get how things go. And I also know that I helped them." she added, straightening herself. "If I have to, I'll face Commander Greil as well."

Titania frowns. "Well, technically, you aren't a part of our group, so you aren't subject to my orders. And even if you were, my orders were specifically to Ike and the others, not you. But we can talk about that a little later. "

"I understand."

"It's all right, Miranda." Oscar assured the blue-haired woman. "I knew this was going to happen even before we left. I'd do the same thing in the commander's place. He's a reasonable man. He may decide that we need to be punished for our disregard for Titania's orders, but it won't be that bad. And, all things considered, I think it was worth it."

Miranda gave him a hopeful smile. "Well, you must be tired after all that's happened. I.. I should let you go relax."

"Bully for him." Zawana said. "But I for one could use some grub. A good fight always makes me hungry."

"Mist said she was going to have something ready for you all when you got back in."

"How thoughtful of her." Titania remarked.

"She said it was the least she could do. She and Sonata have been in the kitchen since they got back."

"Sonata?" Ike asked her.

"She's one of the women that came here with me, the one about as tall as Mist."

"I didn't know she'd picked a name." Zawana objected.

"She chose it after you left."

Titania seemed curious. "That's a musical term. How did she come by it?"

"You'd have to ask her, ma'am."

"I believe I'll do just that. Once I change, that is. Excuse me."

Titania and most of the others moved past Miranda and into the fortress grounds. Oscar, however, did not move. "Yes?" Miranda asked him, puzzled by the look on his face.

"I was curious as to why you're carrying a sword."

The woman's hand flashed to the sheathed weapon at her side, seeming embarrassed by Oscar's question. "Um..."

"Were you planning on coming after us?"

"No... But I... WAS thinking that..."

Oscar gave the woman a comforting smile. "You don't need to be so nervous, Miranda. I'm simply curious. If you'd rather not say, I understand."

Oscar's words seemed to calm the woman. "The truth is, I was worried about you, Oscar. You've been so kind to me since I arrived. I knew you were a mercenary, a warrior, but when you rode off to face armed men, I couldn't help but be afraid that you weren't going to come back." She looked away from Oscar, turning her gaze towards the horizon. "I tried to take my mind off of it by practising my horsemanship. I wanted to make a little improvement. But while I was riding, Sthensar and Sonata both said I seemed to be a... a natural." she said after a moment's hesitation, the obviously humble woman stumbling over even the report of a compliment on her skills.

"I think they were right." Oscar says. "I haven't seen too many people seem at home on a horse as you were with so little practice."

Miranda's cheeks colored nicely. "Sthensar suggested that I might be able to handle a sword while on horseback."

"And he lent you one. Or did he charge you?"

Miranda shook her head. "He knew I didn't have any money." That simple statement made Oscar frown. In all the turmoil that had arisen since the mission in Caldea, it had never occurred to him that the five new woman would have had no more money with them than they had on them when they were transformed. And bandits were not the most flush with cash individuals under the sun. If they had a trove back at their hideout, assuming they had a hideout, Zawana would have been the only one of them that knew about it, and she did not go back for it, or anything else. "I've been practising for the past hour or so." Miranda finished.

"Did you enjoy it?"

"Enjoy it?" Miranda blinked. "I never actually thought about that." She considered that idea for a moment, then nodded slowly. "I think I did. At least I know I enjoyed riding." The woman patted her mount affectionately on the horse's neck. "I wasn't sure I'd even be able to do anything else while riding, let alone wielding a sword. I don't know how well I did, but I managed not to fall off my horse."

"That's an impressive start." Oscar said matter-of-factly. "If you'd like, I can take a look at your technique."

"Now? But, but you must be tired..."

"Not that much. But I must admit, before you take anything I may say too seriously, my expertise is with a spear, not a sword. I'm not certain I could be as much help at advising you as someone like Titania or the commander would be."

"Oh, no, I'd more than welcome any advice!" Miranda nearly shouted, then looked abashed at her surprisingly loud outburst.

Oscar chuckled under his breath. "I don't know that my advice is anything worth shouting about." His modest tone made Miranda blush once again. Oscar wasn't sure if anyone he had ever known turned red so easily. Or pink, as was the case with Miranda. "Come along, then."

"There is one thing I need to ask, though." Oscar said as he and Miranda cantered towards the mercenaries' practice field. "Is wielding a sword in combat really something you honestly want to do?"

Given the woman's modesty and seemingly frequent bouts of embarrassment, Oscar expected her to take her time answering that question, or express a measure of uncertainty at the prospect. So he was quite surprised with Miranda replied, without a great deal of pause, "It's something I want to be able to do, yes." Oscar looked over at her as she continued, "I really was worried about you, Oscar. I didn't like the idea of you getting hurt. But the more I thought about it, the more I liked the idea of not being able to do anything about even less than that. And then I thought about Neige as well, and Zawana and the others. I didn't like the idea of not being able to help them." She drew her sword. It was made of light bronze rather than the heavier iron of Oscar's spear. A lighter weapon, better suited for trainees. "Oscar, I don't remember much of anything from my past life, the life I led before I came here. But I'm sure I held weapons before, and I'm also sure I didn't do good things with them. Now, when I think about using this sword to help save kidnapped children, kidnapped women, to protect people trying to protect innocents." Miranda smiles at the green-clad mercenary. "I do like that. I _want_ to do that."

"Of course I may not be any good at it." she mutters, sheathing her sword. "Just because I like the idea, and I like to ride, doesn't mean I can put the two together."

"No one can right away. It takes practice, Miranda. It's taken me years to acquire the skills that I have. No one does it without falling out of the saddle once or twice. Even me." he says, knowing the woman was about to ask from the expression on her face. "If this is something you want to do, though, the way to do it is to stick with it. Practise every day. And never forget why you're doing it. That is every bit as important as what you do: Why you do it."

Miranda nodded solemnly. "I understand."

The practice field was not deserted when Oscar and Miranda arrived. There was a tall figure in thick, heavy armor swinging a practice sword at one of the wooden dummies. Oscar recognized the figure by the curly blonde hair that streamed down the back of her head. "Neige?" Oscar called out to her.

The woman took one more spirited swing at the target before turning to look back at the two riders. "Oscar. Miranda." she said briefly before turning back to the dummy and resuming her work.

Oscar looked inquisitively at Miranda, who shrugged uncertainly. "She asked me where Sthensar was when she got back. I didn't ask why."

"Sthensar... I guess he had some armor in his wagon." Oscar muttered, silently wondering why the merchant hadn't given Neige an Arturian sword, considering how fond he seemed to be about handing the things out. He had given her a fine looking suit of heavy armor, though. She wasn't as tall or as bulky as Gatrie, but she wouldn't look out of place lined up next to him. In fact, the dark red and black color scheme of her armor would compliment the blue and gold of his armor rather well. She wore no helmet, but then again Gatrie did not wear his helmet when he practised either. What did make her seem a bit out of place was her choice in weapons. Just about every heavy knight Oscar had ever seen carried a polearm of some kind, usually a longspear, sometimes a javelin or short spear for throwing. Very rare was the heavy that carried a sword, and yet, Neige did not appear to be at all awkward while wielding the blade.

He thought about asking the blonde woman why she was doing this, but after a moment's thought, he realized he didn't need to. She'd just been through a kidnapping. It was only natural that she'd want to take steps to prevent that happening again. And it would prove exceedingly difficult to kidnap a woman trained with a sword wearing heavy armor. Oscar, though, wondered if there might be more to it than that. So he asked, "I understand you wanting to learn some swordcraft, Neige, to better defend yourself with. But why the heavy armor?"

"Because I'm not a fast woman." she replies between swings. "And I like the idea of defence."

Oscar waited a moment before asking, gently, "Is it just your own defence you're worried about."

Neige pauses in mid-swing, lowering her weapon as she turns to look at Oscar. "No. It is not."

Oscar nodded thoughtfully. "Rolf and Mist?"

Her fist tightened around the grip of her sword as Neige replied, "I'm an adult, a grown woman, and I couldn't do anything to stop those kids from being taken. It doesn't matter if I have any memories or not, adults protect children. And I... failed to do that. Well, never again." There was fire in her eyes as she looked at Oscar. "The next time someone tries to harm a child when I'm around, I'll split them down the middle."

Even if Oscar had been inclined to try and argue against another woman taking up the path of violence, and if truth be told he was not so inclined after hearing her reasoning, he knew that it was more often than not pointless to try and argue with someone when they had that look in their eye. Instead, he merely asked, "Why heavy armor, if I may ask?"

"I got the idea after I saw Gatrie coming up to join us back on that hill. That armored figure approaching, I knew it would make people think twice about attacking, or even coming near, someone who looked like that."

"Despite the heavy breathing?" Oscar inquired lightly.

Neige managed a slight smile. "I can work with that. Like I said, I'm not a fast runner anyway. I can get used to this armor, I'm sure. And it'll be worth it in the long run." She reached down to the stone bench she was standing next to and retrieved a cloth, dabbing the sweat from her brow. "Just as long as I don't have to do my hair like Gatrie does."

Miranda giggled at that remark, thought Oscar managed to refrain from joining in. He merely smiled. "And, why a sword?"

"From what Boyd and Sthensar have told me, the average bandit and kidnapper uses an axe. Swords have an advantage over axes. That's the kind of enemy you find most often here in Crimea, right?"

"It's the kind of enemy that we deal with more often than not, yes. Though not the only kind. We've also fought pirates and slavers, even the occasional rogue laguz."

Neige ignored the second part of Oscar's reply. "I want to have that edge over the enemies I'll come up against most often. If I meet someone with a sword or a spear, well, that's what the armor's for." She banged her fist against her breastplate. "Fighters like Ike can rely on their speed and their skill. I'll rely on this armor, and this sword. Once I get a real sword." she adds, making Miranda giggle again, and this time Oscar joined her in the sound.

"Well then, Neige, far be it from me to interrupt you if you're practising. Would you mind if Miranda and I got in some practise as well?"

"Just don't run me over." the armored woman quips before tossing her towel back down on the bench.

"Not a problem. Right, Miranda, let's find you a practise sword and see what you can do."

The mess hall of the fortress was filled the smell of roasting meat and hot gravy as Mist and her kitchen helper put the finishing touches on the mercenaries' evening meal. It was promising to be a relatively simple meal all things considered, but that was fine by Ike. Mist's culinary skills had improved over the months, but he didn't think she was quite up to 'feast' level yet, as he knew she wanted to do.

Ike looked around the room and the people around him. Titania and Gatrie were absent at the moment, as they had gone to remove their armor. Even Ike knew about Gatrie's weak spot towards pretty women, so he was a little surprised that he wasn't here talking with Dallas or Sonata. Perhaps he was simply biding his time. Dallas was introducing herself to Boyd and Rolf, and Rhys and Zawana were conferring with each other. Two figures were seated by themselves. One was the last of the bandits-turned-women from Caldea, one that Ike recognized as one of the ones he had defeated. It was the one he had killed, if that term could be applied, after Oscar's horse had knocked him to the ground. She was now about as tall as Ike was and wore one of his old cloaks over a grey shirt. Her hair, unlike the other bandits, had remained short and was a fiery red, a shade or two lighter than Titania's. Ike had not seen much of her since she came back with them to the fort, and he did not think he would have much chance to speak with her now. Though she sat at the same table as the group, her attention was focused solely on the book she was carrying. He couldn't be sure, but Ike thought it looked like one of the books Soren, the group's magician, usually read from.

She was not the one Ike wanted to speak with at the moment, though. His target was the last person in the room, the archer Shinon. The redhead had removed himself from the company of the others as soon as he came in to the room, and now sat apart from the others, carving slices out of an apple with his knife. Under normal circumstances Ike would have been content to leave him to his solitude, but this was one of those times when he had something to say to Shinon, so he rose from his seat and crossed the room.

"Something on your mind?" Shinon asked Ike shortly.

"I haven't had a chance to thank you yet for what you did back on that hill." Ike replied politely. Or at least as politely as he ever was. "You saved Mist just as surely as you did Rolf."

The archer cut off a slice of apple with a sharp snap of his wrist. "Spare me, whelp. I hardly did it for you. And I wouldn't have had to if you hadn't missed that scum in the first place."

Ike bit his tongue. The bandit Shinon had killed had not been part of the group the mercenaries had fought. Most likely he had been the one guarding the hostages. Still, Ike could not dismiss the possibility that he had been with the group and had simply fled before Ike or the others could account for him. Too, he really did not want to spar with Shinon right now. So all he said was, "Maybe so. All the same, I just wanted to thank you."

"You want to thank me? Bring me a cold beer." Shinon said dismissively.

"There is no more beer." Mist called from the kitchen. "You finished the last cask two days ago."

"Dog's breath." Shinon cursed, pushing his chair back and standing quickly. "Where's that cock-eyed trader Sthensar? He ought to have something in his cart."

"Is he always like that?" Dallas asks as the archer stormed out of the room.

Boyd nodded. "Pretty much. The day he cracks a smile twice is a damn rare day."

"So it's not just Ike he talks to that way?"

Boyd shakes his head. "Him and Gatrie are friends, and he usually talks to the commander and the captain with at least some respect. The rest of us, not so much."

"But he hasn't let us down in the field." Rhys adds, trying to sound diplomatic. "His skills have saved us all more than once. We really are lucky to have him with us."

Boyd chuckled mirthlessly. "Just don't tell him that. He's insufferable enough as it is."

"Well I for one am glad her was there today." Zawana proclaimed. "Pulled our asses out of the fire today. He does that, I can live with the attitude."

"You say that like you plan to stay with us a while." Ike remarked.

"And why not?" the woman asked with a grin. "You're not in a hurry to get rid of us, are you?"

"I'm keeping this book if you are." the red-haired woman states absently. The first words Ike recalled her speaking.

"Soren might have something to say about that." Ike said. "At least, if that's one of his books."

"You're reading one of Soren's magic books?" Mist asks as she carries out a tray bearing a large loaf of bread and fresh butter. "And you can understand it?"

The woman nods and mumbles out a yes.

"I thought only magicians could understand those."

"Then I am a magician." the woman answers Mist. She heaves a sigh and reluctantly closes her book. "Or at least I will be, if I can be free of interruptions."

"No complaining." Mist admonished the woman. "You haven't eaten since you got here."

Ike smiled. "Mist takes this sort of thing quite seriously. She refuses to let people go hungry, even if they'd rather."

"Aw, you're a sweetheart." Zawana declares as she throws one of her arms around Mist and pulls her in for a hug.

The far door opened, and Titania's voice preceded her, "That she is, Zawana."

As chance would have it, Ike happened to be looking in the red-haired former bandit's direction when Titania walked in, and the look on her face when she looked over at Titania made Ike do a double-take. Titania wasn't wearing anything special, just an old red shirt and white vest and trousers, but the seated woman, for a moment at least, regarded her as though she had never seen anything more beautiful in her life. Which, Ike realized, was probably true. By some definitions, the former bandit could be considered a newborn, and Titania would have been the first woman she saw outside of her group. Mist may have been 16, but she looked more like a girl than a woman. And though Titania's clothing could be considered slightly masculine, there was no chance whatsoever of confusing her for a man. There was no doubt at all that Titania was a very handsome woman. Ike knew Titania could turn some heads whenever she entered a town. He smiled as he realized she may have just turned another very unexpected one.

"And she's become a competent cook as well." Titania says as she walks over to the table and sits down across from the apparent mage-in-training.

"After more than a little trial and error." Ike remarked.

"And no complaining out of you either!" Mist scolded her brother, pointing at him in slightly exaggerated outrage. "Or you can do the cooking next time."

Zawana nodded her agreement. "Yeah, Ike. No griping at the cook if you're not gonna do it yourself."

"Thank you, Zawana. It's good to have someone on my side for a change." she says as she gives Boyd and Ike a glare and a pout. Everyone joined in the resulting laughter, save the red-haired woman. "But if you want to make yourself useful, go find Oscar and the others, we'll have the stew ready in a few minutes."

"I'll handle it." Rolf offers.

"Thanks." Ike calls after him as the young man bounces out of the room, passing by Shinon as the archer comes back in, his face like a thundercloud. Mist escapes from Zawana's grasp and heads back into the kitchen.

"No beer?" Zawana asks Shinon.

"Useless merchant." Shinon grumbles in reply.

Titania smiles lightly. "This could be an interesting evening. It's been a very long time since you finished a mission and didn't have a drink to celebrate it." Shinon scowled briefly at his superior but says nothing, drawing chuckles from Titania and some of the others.

Leaving teasing Shinon aside for the moment, Titania turns her attention to the redhead sitting across from her. "So. Have you a name?" she asks politely.

"Yes, my lady." the woman replies, not quite meeting Titania's eyes. "During my studies, I have come across several names. I have chosen Cassandra from among them."

"Cassandra. An elegant name."

"It was more simple convenience, my lady. In truth, I see little value in having a name, save only that it avoids being referred to by less specific pronouns. That would be an irritation, and I have avoided it."

Boyd chuckled, leaning back in his seat. "She even sounds a little like Soren. Must be a wizard thing."

"Now, Boyd." Titania chided him gently once she saw Cassandra's look of annoyance. "And, Cassandra, you needn't bother with the formality, certainly not at the dinner table. 'Titania' will do."

"As you would have it, Titania." came the reply, though the hither-to stern faced woman seemed to stumble a little over the casual form of address, a fact that both Ike and Zawana seemed to pick up on. The two exchanged a glance and knowing grins. Ike decided not to say anything about it. Cassandra had been giving off hints that she was, as Boyd had alluded to, not only sounding like Soren, she was carrying herself a bit like the anti-social mage of the mercenaries as well. If Titania could prove to be a good influence on the woman, as she appeared to be doing, then Cassandra could prove to be less socially awkward to be around than Soren.

The two redheads conversed among themselves for a little while, and Gatrie arrived in the meantime. The tall, muscular man had changed as well, and took his usual spot in the mess hall, across from Shinon. Gatrie was much easier to associate with than Shinon was, and Ike was not the one that marvelled at how well they got along.

As the big man of the group sat down, Boyd called back to the kitchen, "Hey, Sonata?"

"Yes?"

"Got a sec? Me and Titania were wondering about something."

A moment later, Sonata emerged from the kitchen. She was clearly the shortest of the five bandits transformed at Caldea, standing barely taller than Mist. She did look a fair bit older than Mist, with her lengthy cheekbones and longer orange-blonde hair, and she filled the old grey blouse she had borrowed from Mist. "How'd you come up with Sonata?" Boyd came out and asked her.

"From Sthensar, actually. I came across him while he was writing something in a book of his and he was singing to himself."

"Sthensar? Singing?" Shinon blurted with a disgusted look on his face. "That guy's more tone- deaf than an earless fishmonger."

Sonata tilted her head curiously at Shinon. "It didn't sound that bad to me."

The archer visibly shuddered. "I hope your cooking's better than your taste in music."

Rhys fixed Shinon with his gaze. "That's interesting coming from you, Shinon, since you don't seem to have a taste for any music."

The arrogant archer shrugged. "My time's too valuable to waste on some hick breaking his fingers on a banjo or strangling a flute."

"At any rate," Sonata says after a moment's rather awkward silence. "I asked him what that song was he was singing, and he said it was called _Dusk Sonata_. I liked the sound of the word 'Sonata', liked it more when I said it myself, so I thought, 'That's a good name.'"

"Well it suits you." Zawana states with a nod. "You do have the prettiest voice of all of us."

"I don't know about that." Sonata replies with a tolerant smile. "But I do know I want to know more about music."

"I hate to disappoint you, but you're not going to find a lot of that around here." Gatrie tells her, leaning forward and resting his chin on his hands. "Sad to say, most of us aren't much better at carrying a tune than Sthensar is."

Shinon nods. "We're mercenaries, not travelling bards."

Titania thinks for a moment. "The closest town to here that I know you can find musical performances on at least a semi-regular basis is Kallast, to the east."

"Hey, you never know." said Zawana. "Maybe one of us has musical talents now."

"I doubt those weapons come with free guitar lessons." Boyd remarks.

"They come with magic talent, don't they?" Zawana counters, gesturing at Cassandra. "None of my guys knew a lick about magic before, and look at Cass now. Or Miranda, all of a sudden she's a rider now. I can guarantee ya none of my guys were that good on a horse before. There's reasons we fought you on foot."

The Greil mercenaries that had been at Caldea looked between each other. None of them had really stopped to think about that before.

"We four were not reduced to blank slates." Cassandra says into the silence. "As Zawana says, each of us now possesses at least one talent that we did not before. I hypothesize that whomever crafted the weapons you used on us did not wish simply to turn amnesiac individuals loose in the world, but intended to give them at least some tools with which to build a new life."

"Although it has to be said that I have yet to explain why we four were affected the way we were, and yet Zawana and Dallas retain the memories of their old lives." she adds. "Perhaps there was something unique about their personalities, or their body chemistry, that led to the differentiating result." She looks at Titania. "You said that the member of your group called Soren is an expert on magic?"

"He is the most well versed in magic of all of us, yes."

"I will consult with him on this matter when he returns. He may have some insight that we do not."

"Have you spoken with Sthensar? He was the one who supplied us with the weapons."

Cassandra gives her a nod. "He was able to confirm some of my suppositions, but he also admitted there was much he did not know of the weapons."

Dallas snorted. "Some merchant. Selling weapons he didn't know everything about."

"He said he had no choice in the matter." Ike says. "That his source for the weapons wouldn't take no for an answer."

Zawana gives Dallas a friendly look. "Don't complain, kid. If it hadn't been for Sthensar, you and me'd be dead now."

The fencer slowly nodded. "That is true. In that case, I suppose I should thank him when I see him."

"So will I." Mist calls out from the kitchen.

"You? Why would you have reason to thank Sthensar?"

"Isn't it obvious?" the young girl asks, sticking her smiling face around the corner. "Thanks to Sthensar, I have all these new friends. That's reason enough, isn't it?"

Mist disappears back into the kitchen, and the assembled individuals, even the sour Shinon, sit in a stunned silence. New friends, she had said. And she was right. Ike looked around the room. Himself and Dallas. Zawana, Rhys and Boyd. Sonata and Mist. Neige and Rolf, Miranda and Oscar, the four of which were entering the room as Ike was ruminating. Titania and Cassandra. They had shared a roof, they'd shared the battlefield, they were about the share a meal. Two days ago, they were enemies. Targets for the mercenaries to eliminate, villains that had taken their friends and family. And though Shinon eventually breaks the silence with a muttering of "Soft-hearted pup." none of the others really seem to care. They had become friends all, always excepting Shinon and perhaps Gatrie as well, thanks to those mysterious swords given to them by the merchant with strange eyes. Some of Ike's doubts about the Arturian weapons melted away as Mist and Sonata began to serve out bowls of thick, steaming hot stew. He still was not sure that they were an entirely good thing, but he did believe that he had done a good thing in using his on these people. And he would use that sword again in the future, should the need arise. And he hoped that he would once again have the chance to fight alongside Zawana, and the others of his group as well. If they chose to leave, Ike would wish them well, but the young man found himself hoping they chose to stay. And that his father would let them. But that was a worry for another time.


	4. Chapter 3

Commander Greil returned to the headquarters of his mercenaries the next day. Ike knew that before the day was done he would have to stand before his father and face the consequences for his disobedience. But even when he was newly awake, he was prepared for this. Actions have repercussions.

Not one to worry, Ike did not waste his time or energy pondering what his father might have in store for him once Titania told him what had happened. He simply went about his usual morning routine, slipping on his clothes, his cloak, then his sword, before heading down to the mess hall for breakfast.

After nearly having his fill, for Ike had the largest appetite of any of the mercenaries, he went out for a jog around the fortress wall, as he often did before practising with his sword. Owing to the surrounding geography, it wasn't really practical to jog all the way along the wall, as the northern side of the fortress was surrounded by a rocky rise and dense woods, a natural defence barrier. It was possible to navigate the terrain, but it was not easy going, so Ike usually turned around when he reached a particularly large granite boulder.

As he made his way around his course, Ike dwelt on a thought he had last night, regarding the possibility of the five- no, six- bandits transformed by the Arturian weapons joining up with the Greil Mercenaries. The more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. At the very least, Zawana had proven that she could fight as well as Boyd could, and that she was willing to jump out and help people that needed help. Too, she had taken it upon herself to protect Rhys, the most vulnerable member of the group, and had maintained that duty all throughout the battle. Admirable traits, all.

Neige and Miranda had both made it clear that they wanted to fight, and fight for the mercenaries. Or perhaps more accurately, for certain members of the group. That was alright by Ike. Anyone who was willing to fight for the safety of his sister was alright in his book. And the two of them certainly seemed like people Ike could work with easily and enjoy it. He was less sure about Cassandra and Sonata's capabilities on the battlefield, but he got the impression that neither one wanted to be separated from the other former bandits.

And then there was Dallas. Ike had no doubt whatsoever about her desire to remain with the group. More specifically, she seemed to want to remain with him. Ike's experience with women was limited, to say the least, which left him rather unsure what to make of that thought. He had fought with Dallas, and if _she_ was as good as _he_ had been, then she was certainly skilled enough to hold her own in a fight with the type of foes the mercenaries were usually called upon to deal with. And her style would make her unique among the mercenaries. Ike was curious to see how well her style complimented his own.

All this was assuming that his father would take them all on, of course. Ike was not well versed in the ways of economics, but he knew that his group was not the wealthiest band of mercenaries in Crimea. He was uncertain if his group had the resources to hire half a dozen new people at once, four of them untrained in the ways of the warrior. On the other hand, he knew that if his group had more mercenaries available to it, they would be able to take on more work and bring in more money. Despite himself, Ike found himself sighing. He knew that one day, many years down the road, he would take over the leadership of the group from his father when he retired, barring the discovery of someone better qualified for the role. He had a great deal to learn between now and that day.

Including, he realized, how to discipline troops. Eventually, if he took over his father's role, he himself would one day have to stand before one of his men that had disobeyed orders. This was not an idea he found entirely appealing, but it was the reality of the future. He resolved to learn from his own experience today.

When Ike was on his return circuit, he saw Dallas standing outside the wall. The dark haired woman waved at him, and Ike paused at the bottom of the slight hill leading up to the fortress bailey. "What is it?" he called up to her.

"Your father's called for you." came the reply. "He wants to talk to you now."

Ike nodded. "Right."

Dallas was smiling when she saw his face. "You're not worried, are you."

The young man shook his head. "No. Whatever he has in mind, I'll take it and learn from it."

"Good man." Dallas said quietly, falling into step next to Ike. Unlike the other former bandits, Dallas was wearing much the same clothing that she had been when he met Ike on the battlefield. She had managed to repair her green leather armor and wore a rust-red shirt underneath it. That was one of the only two changes from what Dals had worn, the other being her hair being tied back by a grey ribbon rather than a leather thong.

"Why do you say that?" Ike asks her, puzzled by her statement.

"When I was Dals, I remember seeing a lot of my old comrades around me called to stand before their superior, and almost none of them really seemed prepared for it. Not many of them learned anything from it either."

"Back when you were in the Crimean army?"

Dallas's head snapped up in shock. "How do..." she stammered.

"Oscar told us, after the fight was over. He said he recognized your name."

The former bandit's brow knitted in thought. "I don't remember him."

"He was in the Royal Knights at the time."

"Yeah, that would have done it. I was just a regular soldier." She hesitated. "Did he tell you why I... left?"

Ike shakes his head. "No. He just said something about an incident."

Laughing a bitter laugh, Dallas nodded. "That's a fine way to put it." She glanced over at her companion. "Ike, I..."

"You don't have to tell me if you don't want to." Ike tells her with a faint smile of understanding. "And not now, anyway. I shouldn't keep my father waiting for too long."

"Doesn't it bother you?" she asked as Ike started to walk away.

"Does what bother me?"

"The... The not knowing."

Ike paused again, looking back over his shoulder. "Why would it bother me? If you did something wrong before, then that was another life. You're Dallas now, not Dals. I don't know everything that Zawana did before we met her, but I trust her now. Besides," he added with a shrug and a grin, "I don't know everything about what Shinon or Soren or Gatrie were doing before they joined the mercenaries. That doesn't bother me either."

After he saw Dallas smile, Ike gave her a nod and walked towards the fortress hall. He did not notice the smile grow as he walked away.

Ike was surprised to hear voices coming from the mercenaries' meeting room. He knew his father would be in there waiting for him, but he heard Boyd and Mist's voices as well. It seemed this would not be a private meeting between superior and subordinate.

In fact, except for Rolf, every member of the mercenary group was within the meeting room. And Commander Greil as well. He was standing behind one of the smaller tables in the room, and his usually stern countenance was even more grim than usual.

Ike cleared his throat as he came to stand in the doorway. "You wanted to see me, father?"

The tall man nodded. "Sit down, Ike." he rumbled.

"Titania has told me about what happened yesterday." he says as his son sits across from him. "About the kidnappings. And about four of my men disobeying Titania's orders." The commander's grim tone could have chilled the heart of the hardest bandit.

"I was the one that left first." Ike admitted, meeting his father's gaze. "I knew what I was doing. I take full responsibility, sir."

"The hell you do!" Boyd shouted. "You don't get to play the martyr! I was just a step behind you, rookie. I'm ready to accept punishment, too! Hang on a minute." Boyd stopped himself, looking perplexed. "What the heck am I saying?"

Almost as soon as Boyd stopped talking, Rhys piped in, "Please, Commander Greil. I was the one Captain Titania trusted with her orders. If anyone's to blame for us breaking them, it's me, for not insisting hard enough. I'm the one who should be punished, not Ike."

"I set a poor example." Oscar added, coming up to stand next to his brother. "I am a senior member of the group to Ike, and yet I disregarded the captain's orders as well. The punishment for this should be mine alone."

Titania, standing unobtrusively next to the other doorway, smiled as, one after the other, the young men came to Ike's defence. There was no doubt at all about the bonds between the men, and that would be a tremendous help on the battlefield. And even with the practical benefit aside, Titania simply loved to see her boys getting along.

Her commander, however, did not seem to share her sentiment or her smile at that moment in time. "I am pleased to see you all so willing to shield each other." he remarks, though his tone betrays no such pleasure. He returns his steely gaze to Ike "Regardless of your reasons, you all disobeyed the orders of a superior officer. Ike, you are confined to your room for the next ten days. And the rest of you, three days."

"But father!" Mist wailed. "They did what they to save Rolf and Neige and me!"

"Rules exist for a reason, Mist." says her father sternly. "Men will not survive on the battlefield if they run off whenever they choose without so much as a 'by your leave'. Regardless of the reasons for their actions, those actions have consequences."

 _Funny, that's what I said._ Ike mused, keeping a smile off his face. "I understand, sir. I accept the reprimand." The other three men nodded their silent agreement.

Then Greil's stone face cracked a bit. "That being said, we have more work than we can handle right now. Your punishments will be deferred until things calm down." The commander stood then. "And the first bit of business that I'd like to discuss with you all is a matter of personnel."

"Bringing some new meat on board, Commander?" Shinon asked.

"Specifically, the six women that have been with us these past couple of days. Zawana spoke with me earlier this morning, and all six of the women that have been our guests have expressed a desire to join the Greil Mercenaries."

As Shinon's face twisted into a sneer, Gatrie asked, "I don't get it, commander. You don't need to talk to us about who joins or not."

"Your judgement hasn't let us down yet." Shinon added.

"Perhaps. But these circumstances are rather unique. We are not dealing with just any group of women, we are dealing with women whom, in essence, were created by members of this group. I have already spoken to Titania on the matter, now I want to know where all of you stand with the idea of working with such people. Shinon?"

The archer's face twisted again. "I don't much like the idea, commander. These aren't just women, they're freaks. Those magic swords in the kids' hands did this, and it isn't right. And they were bandit scum. You can't trust them any farther than you can throw them."

Gatrie nodded his agreement. "If you're asking, commander, I'm not entirely comfortable with working with them either. I just, well, I can't really get past the fact that they... Used to be men, all of them."

"That might be true, but that doesn't matter to me." Boyd declares. "I think we can trust them, and I think they'd be good to have around. I say we bring them onboard."

"I agree." Oscar says with a nod. "Having spoken with them all, I feel that they all wish to make a new start for themselves, distance themselves from their old lives. With us, they'll have at least a decent chance at that. Also, as you said yourself, Commander, we have been very short handed lately, especially with Soren away. We could use the extra hands."

Rhys smiles. "That's right. We're not just any group of mercenaries, we're the Greil Mercenaries. We do good. If they want to make themselves better, then I think we can help them do it. We should help them do it."

Their answers were about what Ike had expected, save Gatrie's. Though he shouldn't have been too surprised. He knew that Gatrie had a weakness for women, but these women were about as far from run of the mill as it was possible to imagine. And he was certain he knew where Mist stood on the matter. His certainty was confirmed when Mist spoke, in reply to her father, "I'd love to have them here!"

"So would I." says Ike. "I don't think it matters how they became what they are now. What matters _is_ who they are now. If they want to join our group, then I think we should at least consider it."

"'Consider' it?" Boyd asks.

Ike looked over at him. "What we do isn't for everyone, Boyd, you know that as well as I do. Maybe being a mercenary isn't the life for Sonata, or Cassandra. And if it is, maybe this group isn't the best fit for one of them. But I don't see any harm in trying."

"Well said, Ike." Oscar remarked while Shinon scowled at them both.

For the first time since Ike had entered the room, Commander Greil managed a smile, albeit a very faint one. "All right, then. Shinon, Gatrie, since you two have your objections to the idea of Zawana and the others joining us, I'll ask: Do you feel that you can work with them?"

Still scowling, Shinon managed a slow nod. "Yes, sir, I do." he grumbled out.

"It's your call, commander." Gatrie said with an easy smile. "I'm not about to start second guessing your choices. If you think these, uh, women, can help us out, then that's fine by me."

Greil nodded. "Good. Because two of them will be joining us on our next two missions."

Titania opened the rear door she had been standing next to and looked out into the hall beyond. "You can join us now, please." A moment later, Zawana and Dallas entered the room, Zawana grinning broadly, Dallas looking grateful.

"Heya, folks!" Zawana announced with a jaunty wave. "Looks like we'll be working together for a while."

"Good to have you both on board." Boyd replies.

"Why just Zawana and Dallas, father?" Ike asked the commander.

"Miranda has no armor yet. Sthensar said he would bring some back for her in a day or two. And Neige, Sonata and Cassandra all require more training before they can see field duty. Sonata, incidentally, is training to use staves, like Rhys. When we get back, Rhys, I'd like you to work with her."

"Yes, sir!" The young man seemed quite happy about the idea of having another healer with the group.

Greil turned to treat the two new mercenaries to the treat of his imposing look. "These two missions will give me a chance to assess the skills of you both in the field, in an authorized mission, this time."

"You can count on us, boss." Zawana assured him, then chuckled. "Damn. How long's it been since I called someone else boss?"

Dallas inclined her head formally. "I won't let you down, commander." she promises him.

"I'll be counting on that. Dallas, you will accompany myself, Boyd, Rhys and Oscar on our mission."

Titania stepped up to stand next to Greil. "Gatrie, Shinon, Ike, Zawana, you're with me."

Shinon did not look all that happy about the group assignments, but he kept his complaints to himself this time. Dallas, though, also appeared to have an objection, and she was more willing to raise it. "Um, commander?"

"What is it?"

"I don't mean to question your orders, certainly not on my first mission, but I was rather hoping to fight alongside Ike. He was the one that gave me a second chance at life. I was hoping to have a chance to fight with him this time, rather than against him."

"And someday you will." Greil answered, seemingly unperturbed at the new recruit debating his choice. "But not today. With you in my group, and Zawana with Titania's, each group has a reasonably balanced group of weapons among them. One should never overspecialize in one weapon type if such a circumstance can be avoided."

Dallas could not hide the disappointment on her face. Still, she bowed her head. "I understand, Commander Greil."

"Maybe next time." Ike said encouragingly. The dark-haired woman managed a faint smile for him.

"There is one more thing I need to say before we head out." Greil announces. "The Arturian weapons that some of you carry. I have considered the situation, and I won't order you not to use them in combat. Nor will I order any of you that do not currently have one not to ask Sthensar for one. But I will ask you not to use them lightly. They offer you advantages that your mundane arms do not. If you need that edge to survive a battle, to protect one of your comrades or a bystander, then use them. Understood?"

He was met my a chorus of agreements.

"Any further questions?" Greil asked the group loudly. There were none. "All right, then. Let's go to work."

"Our destination is the port town of Talma." Titania informed her group as they headed out of the fortress, travelling northwest.

"That fur-lover's city?" Shinon spat.

Titania looked at him sternly. "You're familiar with it, then."

Zawana looks between the knight and the archer, and clears her throat, hoping to break the sudden tension. "I'm not, captain."

"Neither am I." Ike adds.

Titania glances back at the two mercenaries in the middle of the group. For a moment, she seemed grateful for the interruption. "It's a relatively small town on Balfour Bay. It has a thriving fish market and a decent sized port. It's not large, but it's fairly prosperous. Which may have been the cause of its recent problem. The man who spoke with Commander Greil informed him, a few days ago, a pirate ship sailed into port and have all but taken over the town since. Our job is to clear them out."

Zawana frowns. "I hope we don't have to fight on water much. I'm not much of a sailor."

"I wouldn't worry, rookie." Shinon says, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "We haven't met a pirate yet that was any danger for me. We'll be finished before supper time."

Zawana gives Shinon a hard look. "You don't hurt for confidence, do you?"

"Never had a reason to."

"Well, do be so kind as to leave some of them for the rest of us. I'd hate to walk all that way for nothing."

Shinon levelled his sarcastic sneer at Zawana. "I thought bandits like you were all about taking the easy way."

"Why, you-!" Zawana started to lunge forward, but Ike caught her by the shoulder.

"Forget it, Zawana. He's just trying to provoke you." he tells her while looking harshly at Shinon.

The archer chuckles. "And if it's that easy, I'll have to make sure to keep your ass safe, since you're sure to get in over your head."

Stirring a burst of speed out of her horse, Titania pulls ahead of Shinon and stops in his path. The red-haired knight fixes her subordinate with a piercing gaze. "You had your chance to object to Zawana's presence back at headquarters. If you have any more objections, take them up with me or with Commander Greil. Otherwise, keep them to yourself. We are professionals, and I won't have us provoking each other like amateurs on the way to a job. Am I clear?"

Shinon's face hardens and he draws himself up to his full height. Despite himself, Ike felt himself tense up. Shinon respected Titania's authority, but Ike knew he hated to be talked to like that, except perhaps when Greil was doing the talking. Shinon was already unhappy to be working with Zawana, and Ike suspected his own presence was not helping the archer's mood any.

After staring at each for long enough to make the other three quite uncomfortable, Shinon clicked his teeth and let some of the tension bleed out of his stance. "Clear, deputy commander."

She nods curtly. "I can accept some level of bickering between us. But not outright provocations. You, Shinon, should watch your tongue. And you, Zawana," she adds, looking past Shinon to the axe wielder. "need to control your temper. Shinon can be adversarial, but he did have a point. If an enemy were to provoke you as easily as Shinon just did, you really could get yourself into a bad situation that you might not be able to get out of."

Zawana's breath came out as an angry huff, but she gave Titania a nod. "Yes, ma'am."

The silence that followed was still a little uncomfortable, until Ike spoke. "How many enemies will we be facing, deputy commander?"

"Around twenty." Titania replies as she turns her horse around, and the group sets off again. "Though we should account for at least a few more that our contact was not aware of."

"So we'll be outnumbered four to one?" Zawana gapes.

"We're always outnumbered." Shinon says bluntly. "We make up for it by being better than the enemy."

Zawana works her mouth around. "I'm not sure I like the idea of being outnumbered all the time."

"You become accustomed to it over time." Titania tells her. "In truth, it is the missions where we are not outnumbered that should give you the most concern. They always seem to end up being the most dangerous."

"Yeah. Those times usually mean we're fighting one or a few guys that are at the top of their game." says the clanking form of Gatrie, bringing up the rear of the group. "Or one or two laguz, and they're always trouble."

"We're not gonna have to deal with _them_ too, are we?" Shinon asks Titania.

"Not to my knowledge. Our target is a crew of pirate humans, not whatever laguz might be in the town."

"You don't think we'll find any there, do you?" asks Zawana, sounding concerned. "Humans and sub-humans don't mix."

Shinon cracks a grin. "We agree on something."

"The possibility is not zero." Titania replies, ignoring Shinon. "Occasionally, bear laguz ships stop at Talma to trade. The town is friendlier to laguz than most others. But I don't know of any laguz that live there. And I sincerely doubt there would be a bear ship in port. No pirate ship would dare land at the same port as a polar bear ship."

As she answered Zawana's question, Ike heard a touch of disappointment in her voice. That puzzled him for a moment, until he thought back to that conversation he, Titania and Greil had had with Sthensar. Titania had asked him if the Arturian weapons changed peoples' opinions about the laguz for the better. In Zawana's case, they clearly had not.

"Why not?" Ike asked once she was finished talking.

"Because polar bears are the worst of a bad lot." Shinon answers, his disdain for the people in question clear. "They'd just as soon pull your guts out as look at you."

Ike knew he had a habit of taking things at face value, but he knew Shinon well enough to question the veracity of everything he had to say. He resolved to ask Titania or Oscar about that later, but Titania made that decision partly unnecessary. "It is true that polar bear laguz are generally aggressive, moreso than any other laguz tribe. But they are hardly that unreasonable. I have only ever met one polar bear, and she was a very reasonable woman."

"Are there other kinds of bears?" Ike asked her before Shinon or Zawana could make a snide remark.

Titania smiled a ghostly smile. Perhaps she sensed Ike's speedy question had a purpose beyond idle curiosity. "Two. All of the laguz tribes have three groups. Among the bears, the polar bears are the largest, strongest and potentially most dangerous. They're also among the least seen in this region, as they live in the most northern parts of the continent, and tend not to associate with beorc."

"The panda tribe are the next largest. They are the least aggressive of the bears. Chances are, Ike, if you ever see a bear, a panda will be the first one you see. Very often they become traders and merchants, trading potions, drinks and medicines that beorc can't make. They're very even tempered, at least usually, and travel all across the continent."

She pauses for a moment to take a drink from her waterskin before finishing her explanation. "The black bears are the last group. They're the most populous of the bear tribe. Their kingdom actually borders ours. As I understand, there used to be somewhat regular contact between our kingdom and theirs before the Serenes Massacre. Now they hardly ever leave their kingdom, or at least, hardly traffic with ours. They may still deal with Gallia, but I wouldn't know."

"Deputy commander?" Zawana starts, sounding perplexed. "You almost sound... disappointed."

"I am."

Gatrie tells Zawana, "Our deputy commander is one of those that agrees with our king Ramon, that beorc and laguz should be closer."

Zawana looks as though she just swallowed some bitter medicine. "Ah." is all she says.

To Ike, this dislike of the laguz people was only confusing. He knew that Shinon was older and had a great deal more experience than he did, so perhaps he had a bad encounter with the laguz. Or more than one, judging from the scorn in his voice. By the sound of it, Zawana's experiences had been no better. That made more sense to Ike, though. Zawana had been a bandit, an outlaw. He knew that those that live on the fringes of society tended to have rougher experiences with people in general. He wanted to ask Zawana about that, but he had a feeling that the discussion might make Titania sad. Ike did not want to do that, so he set his curiosity aside for the moment. There would be plenty of time to satisfy his curiousty later.

Assuming they all survived the battle to come.

It took the Greil Mercenaries until the following noon to reach the port city of Talma. It was a bigger town that Ike had envisioned. On the road approaching the town, the group could see that there were in fact two large ships in the port. "The pirates have help after all?" Gatrie asked as the group trooped towards the town's entrance.

"We'll know soon enough." Titania replied, gesturing towards the lone figure standing next to a two-story building marking the limits of the city. "The commander told me that someone would meet us once we got to the city. I suspect that will be him."

"Do you guys usually have a local source?" Zawana inquires.

"Sometimes, but not always. It can be helpful, but there are times when it is not necessary." The knight unslung her axe. "Stay sharp, people. Trouble ahead."

The figure waiting for the mercenaries turned out to be an old man leaning heavily on an oak cane. He guided the group into a plaza at the centre of town, with a clear view of both boats. He pointed to the smaller ship of the two. "That's their ship, deputy commander Titania. They sailed into town a few days ago and have been causing all kinds of trouble."

"And to whom does the other ship belong to?" Titania asks him.

The old man ponders. "I'm not sure. That ship only arrived last night. I don't even know if anyone's disembarked from her yet."

"Then it is not another pirate ship?"

"I don't believe so, ma'am."

"Then it's only the one group we have to deal with."

The old man nods. "I pray your group will be able to drive them away."

Titania gave the man a confidant smile. "You can depend on us, sir."

"Feathering sea scum like this is easier than shooting apples off a tree." Shinon drawled as the old man walked away. "Let's get this done and go home."

Gatrie struck the cobblestone beneath him with the butt end of his spear. "Ho, deputy commander! Want standard thunder and lightning tactics here?"

"Erm... Thunder and lightning?" Ike asked, lost.

"Yeah! I crash into the enemy like thunder, and Shinon rains arrows down on 'em like lightning!" Gatrie informs Ike and Zawana enthusiastically.

"Sounds good." Titania nods, then turns her attention to Ike and Zawana. "We'll hold back while Shinon and Gatrie head up the main road here, drawing the pirates' attention and thinning their numbers. Ike, Zawana, I want you to sweep through that road to the left, pick off any stray pirates that might be lingering down there. I'll do the same on the right. We'll rush the ship once their numbers have been whittled down. Now I want you two to stay together." she says to the new newcomers sternly. "Neither of you have the experience of the rest of us. Watch each others' backs and keep yourselves safe."

"You sure you trust them to go off on their own?" Shinon asks his superior, with only a touch of the scorn that usually colors his voice.

"I do." Titania answers. "They've both proven they can hold their own in a fight, and their skills are diverse enough to handle what the average pirate can throw at them. But don't get in over your heads, you two."

"You got it, boss!" Zawana says with a grin. "I never much cared about making a good first impression before, but I do now. I'll keep your kid safe."

Rather than show offence to Zawana's bluff claim, Ike simply gives Titania a solemn nod. "Thank you, deputy commander."

"Having said that, try not to get TOO far away from the rest of us if you don't have to." Titania replied with a rather matronly smile on her face. It did not stay there long before she spurred her horse into briefly rearing up. "Greil Mercenaries, move out!"

Gatrie and Shinon charged forward, the heavy armor Gatrie wore defeating any chance the two men had at taking the pirates by surprise. In this case, though, that was not so much unavoidable as it was intentional. Gatrie almost always took point on missions such as this, so as to draw the enemies' attention to himself. None of the mercenaries, save the Commander and perhaps Titania, could take a pounding the way Gatrie could.

Though Ike expected the first sounds of combat to come from the main street, he kept his eyes sharp and his sword ready. His eyes swept over the cobbled road and the buildings on either side, as though expecting armed brigands to leap out of any given doorway.

"What's that grin for, kid?" Zawana asked him as they passed by a fishing supply store.

Ike was perplexed. "Grin?" he asked, before realizing that, yes, he was indeed smiling. He had not even noticed.

"Fightin' puts you in a good mood?" Zawana asked with a grin of her own.

Ike shook his head. "No, not really. I guess what Titania said made me happy. After going off on my own the other day, I think I was expecting her to keep a closer eye on me." He smiled again briefly. "I guess she must have faith in me. I won't let her down."

"I think you're about to test that faith." Zawana said as her face narrowed. "Trouble ahead."

A pair of bearded, unwholesome looking men burst out of a general goods store and out into the street. The taller one had a large canvas sack slung over his shoulder and an evil grin on his furry face. The shorter one was backing out of the building, brandishing a curved sword at someone or something inside the building. "We thanks ye fer yer contributions ta our stores." he drawls in a lilting tone, chuckling darkly.

Zawana nudged Ike. "Five'll get ya six they just plundered that place."

"No question." He nodded at the short one. "Can you handle the big one? I'll take the swordsman."

Zawana answered by raising her Arturian axe. "No problem, kid."

"Yarr, what's this?" the tall one growled as he looked up the road and saw the two mercenaries. "Some kid and his girlfriend wot found some blades?"

"You wish." Zawana taunted him. "We're the Greil Mercenaries, and we're here to give you a bad day."

The bald pirate threw his head back and laughed, but his companion slowly turned his scarred face towards Ike and Zawana. "Greil?"

"Wot, you've heard of 'em?" the big one asks.

The blonde pirate nods. "Yarr. They were the ones what aced Thaddeus' crew last year."

Without a word, the bald pirate dropped the sack of loot he had been carrying, pulled an axe from his belt, and charged down the street, his companion close behind him.

Ike reacted before Zawana, dashing down the dusty lane ahead of his fellow mercenary. "So much for banter." Zawana muttered as she launched herself forward. "Come on, baldy! Show me what you got!" she taunted the taller pirate.

"Nobody calls me baldy!" the muscular man roared, putting on more speed and starting to outstrip his fellow pirate. Clearly enraged by the rather simple taunt, the large man's bulging eyes were so focused on Zawana, that he seemed to be ignoring Ike completely. Ike was not so tunnel-visioned, though he seemed to be outwardly. He tried not to draw the attention of the angry pirate, and took advantage of his murderous focus when he passed the large man by. Ike lashed out at the side of the pirate with his sword, the iron blade cutting into the man's unarmored right flank.

With a bark of pain, the bald pirate staggered to a halt. Had he been given the time, he almost certainly would have tried to turn and strike back at Ike, but that time was not available to the man, as Zawana was very suddenly upon him. Zawana's axe fell, and the pirate was able to raise his own axe in reply, the two weapons colliding with a dense ringing. Despite the wound in his side, the bald man was still very much combat capable, and his return slash was vicious and swift. Zawana was barely able to get out of the way of the edge of the axe. The two closed again, locking axes once more, and while the pirate's face was contorted with pain and anger, Zawana was still grinning. "You could still run away."

"Not 'till I see yer blood!" the pirate roars, gripping his axe with both and delivering a massive two-handed overhead swing at Zawana. The mercenary woman, still grinning, merely leaned backwards, letting the axe pass harmlessly in front of her, and smashed the blade of her Arturian axe into the bald man's face. The pirate collapsed in a twitching heap.

The threat before her dispatched, Zawana looked up to see if Ike needed her assistance. She needn't have worried, for as she looked up, she saw Ike smoothly turn aside his enemies' cutlass and deliver a strike that laid the pirate open from shoulder to hip. This wound may well have been enough to put the man down by itself, but when added to the other wounds Zawana saw on the man's body, she knew he was finished even before he went down.

Ike had not escaped his duel unharmed. The blonde pirate had slashed him on his left leg and, thanks to his own carelessness, on his left arm. Neither wound was debilitating nor seemed to be bleeding profusely, so Ike decided to press on with the mission. He looked back at Zawana. "Watch my back out here, I'm going to make sure there aren't more pirates in that building."

"You got it." Zawana replies. "Yell if you need me."

There was only one individual within the store that Ike entered into, and he did not seem to be one of the pirates. He was a dark-skinned man with odd-colored hair and a beige cloak worn over his brown clothing. Ike looked the man over for weapons, and saw none, but it must be said that he found himself a bit distracted by the man's ears, for never had Ike seen ears like this man's. The tips of both his ears were sharply pointed.

The man was examining a couple of coils of rope, and he did not look up when Ike came in. "This town has become quite unruly, wouldn't you say?" he asks, his tone light, unconcerned with the violence that he had to have heard outside. "Is this town always so dangerous?"

Ike shrugged "I wouldn't know. I'm only here to deal with the pirates that are here now."

"Ah... So the town is plagued with pirates, is it? I see. That would explain the uncouth behaviour of those two men that just left." He spared a quick glance over at Ike and seemed surprised. "You are... a mercenary?"

"That's right."

The man look at Ike again, more slowly this time. "You seem so very young to be leading the life of a blade for hire. And you claim to have been hired to rid the town of these pesky pirates?"

"I have been." Ike says firmly. "I take it there's no more here." The pointy-eared man shook his head. "Right." Ike gave the man a nod and turned around, wanting to rejoin Zawana.

"Just a moment." the man called after him. When Ike turned back around, he found the man was facing him now, and there was a blue glass bottle in his hand. "Perhaps you should take this. It might prove useful to you."

"What is it?" Ike asks as he walked over and took the offered bottle. There was a pale yellow liquid contained therein.

He smiled gently. "An elixir. A healing potion of remarkable potency. It could help you, should you find yourself in trouble against your foes. Now go. And please, do be quick about disposing of those pirates. My crew and I travelled a long way to sample this town's fish market, and these ruffians are well and truly spoiling our plans."

Another mercenary might have been puzzled by the seemingly random gift from a stranger, but Ike simply tucked the bottle into a pouch and gave the man a nod. "Thank you."

"Best of luck to you." the man said with a smile.

As Ike opened the shop door to head back out onto the street, he was greeted by the sound of weapons' clashing to his left. Zawana had engaged another one of the pirates, the axes of the two flashing through the air. Zawana seemed to be gaining the upper hand on the man, who was no bigger than she was, but an arrow came streaking in from an alley to the north and struck the mercenary in her upper back. The arrow failed to penetrate deeply into Zawana's back, but it did disrupt the woman's aim, and the slash she had aimed at her opponent went wide.

Even though Zawana still had a foe before her, Ike believed she could handle that man on her own. It was the archer that was the problem that Ike had to deal with. So Ike charged across the street at the spindly-armed pirate. The short man had one eye covered with a black patch, but he could still see Ike coming. He adjusted his aim and loosed an arrow at the charging mercenary, but the hastily taken shot was easily evaded by Ike. It barely even slowed him down, and the pirate found himself within range of Ike's sword much more quickly than he would have liked.

But although Ike had made good time and taken the archer's attention away from Zawana, the terrain was against Ike. The alleyway he found himself in was somewhat narrow, preventing him from making as wide an arc with his sword as he otherwise might have done. His blade cut into the pirates' sternum, but failed to cause any severe damage. One would not have guessed that from the way the man screamed in pain, however. He scrambled backwards away from Ike, tipping over a stack of crates in the process almost by accident. Ike was not so foolish as to let himself get caught in that sort of thing, but the falling crates did delay his pursuit of the pirate long enough to let the bleeding man put some distance between the two, turn, and fire another arrow at Ike. Thwarted again by the terrain, Ike juked to his right sharply, but ran into the alley wall. The arrow struck him in his left arm, just below his shoulder.

The pain blossomed into anger in Ike. Not at the pirate, but at himself. Getting hit like that was a mistake he should never have made. He would thrash himself over it later, though. For now, he would take it out on his foe. The pirate had grinned when he saw his shot strike Ike, but that grin wavered when he saw the furious look in Ike's eyes. He drew another arrow as Ike started to advance on him again, but his shaking hands prevented him from drawing a steady bead on the mercenary. He started to back away, trying to keep himself out of range of Ike's sword, but this led to his aim being even more unsteady. When he released his arrow, all Ike had to do was jerk his head to the side slightly.

When he did, though, he saw something most unusual. The alley opened up onto the docks, and the pirate's ship was almost directly across from the alleyway. The ship's deck was swarming with activity, some heading towards the ramp Ike could see, while other figures were gathering around a figure Ike could not see clearly, apart from one odd feature.

"Wings?" he muttered.

"Never seen a pegasus knight before?" the archer asked him, grateful that Ike had slowed if only a little.

"What's a pegasus knight doing on a pirate ship?"

"Looking for 'er brother, so she says." replied the archer, then he chuckled an evil laugh. "Sucks ta be 'er."

Ike's face hardened even more. "What did you do to him?"

"Penniless fop couldn't pay when 'e rolled the bones against our cap'n, and lost." The pirate continued to back away from Ike, passing out of the alleyway. He did not have Ike's situational awareness, and did not realize that Ike could now wield his sword to his full ability.

"So you pirates are going make her pay?"

"That's what family's for, right?" the eyepatch wearing bandit said with a smirk as he fired an arrow at Ike's head.

The young mercenary felt something inside him snap when the pirate said that. The way he so casually insulted the bonds of family, the way the pirate gang treated that woman looking for her brother, and the way they had treated him. All this coupled with the anger Ike was already nursing blossomed into outrage. He jerked his head sharply to the side, and the arrow only managed to nick his jawline just enough to break the skin. His hand locked around his sword's hilt in a deathgrip, Ike rushed forward out of the alleyway.

The pirate thought about trying to shoot at Ike again, but the look on the young mercenaries' face broke his will. He turned around and tried to flee, but even had he not hesitated, Ike would have proven the faster man. Ike gripped his sword with both hands and delivered a furious blow to the fleeing pirates' back. Blood flew as Ike's heavy blade sheared through muscle and bone, and the pirate fell.

Had Ike not had a problem still before him, he might have felt his anger wane at that point. But he was closer to the ship now, and could hear fighting from the main deck. He knew that the pegasus knight there was still in trouble. He did not know how many pirates were up there, but he did know that he had to help the woman warrior, and that he would probably need an edge in weaponry, especially if he would be badly outnumbered. So as he started to run towards the gangplank leading up to the ship's deck, he sheathed his iron blade and drew his Arturian sword.

His opportunity to swing it against the pirates came sooner than he was expecting. When he was a handful of steps away from the gangplank, a burly pirate carrying a large axe started to descend the wooden plank. The larger man's face broke into a twisted grin when he saw what seemed to him to be easy prey, and his brisk walk turned to a run towards Ike.

The bridge between dock and ship was relatively wide, but not wide enough to allow Ike to get past the pirate in front of him. He would have go through him. Steeling himself, Ike readied his blade, but he was unprepared for where the first strike would come from. With almost no warning, an arrow flew in from the east, striking the pirate in his bare chest, just below his collarbone. Without even turning to look, Ike knew that had to be Shinon's work. The pirate staggered, but did not fall. His fate was already sealed, though, as before he could recover his footing, Ike was upon him, delivering a rising slash to the wounded man. The force of the blow knocked the man off his feet, and he tumbled over the gangplank railing with a strangled cry, crashing into the waters of the bay below.

Despite this noise, Ike was still able to hear the sound of heavy, fast-paced footsteps from behind him. Someone was running at him from behind, but when he glanced back to look, he saw that it was Zawana. She was bleeding from cuts on her cheek, arm and stomach, but none of her wounds appeared too bad. Ike gave her a quick salute with his sword, then waved her towards him before turning and charging up the gangplank as fast as he could, leaping on to the deck of the ship.

He arrived in time to see the pegasus knight, who turned out to be a young-looking woman with short purple hair, use her slim spear to turn aside the sword of one of the three pirates attacking her, though only just. The pirate clearly had the edge on the woman in strength, and the act of guarding against the pirate in front of her knocked the knight off-balance. Not completely, but enough and for long enough for another one of the three pirates arrayed against her to hurl a small but strong throwing axe at the woman's back. The weapon penetrated the knight's already damaged breastplate, and the woman crumpled in her saddle.

Ike scowls. "I've got the thrower." he growled, knowing Zawana could hear him, and tore across the deck, charging straight for the pirate that had struck the knight. His course took him close to the pirate in front the knight, the one he hoped Zawana could take, but he could not help himself from taking a swipe at the man himself. His Arturian blade flashed and cut into the thick muscle of the pirate's thigh. The wounded leg buckled and the pirate toppled over with a surprised scream.

Leaving Zawana to handle that one, Ike charged forward at axe-throwing pirate. This one had no better reflexes than the archer he had bested, and was unable to throw an axe at Ike before the mercenary had drawn to within the reach of his sword. The first swing of his magical sword struck the outlaw's axe, knocking the weapon from his hand. The now disarmed pirate yelped in shock as he recoiled, his hand stinging from the force of the impact. In doing so, he neglected to note his proximity to a small flight of stairs leading to the second deck of the ship. He stumbled over the oak step and fell backwards, helpless before Ike, who did not hesitate. He brought his magical weapon down atop the pirate's head, cutting through the man's skull, stopping only at his collarbone.

Though there was no doubt Ike had taken care of the man before him, the manner in which he had done so was not the most judicious method available to him. Although the blade he wielded was magical, possessing advantages over his other mundane blade, it did not slide out of the pirate's body without effort, and there was another pirate nearby. Ike heard the man coming at him, but he couldn't remove the Arturian sword from the pirate's body in front of him in time to face whatever attack was coming at him. On instinct, as he wrenched his blade free, he threw his body to his left. This act may have saved his life, but did not allow him to escape unscathed, as the pirate's axe carved its way through the flesh of Ike's back. Ike bit his lip to keep from screaming as he tried to roll and pop up back to his feet, but he proved incapable of finishing the maneuver. He ended up propped up on one knee, but he was facing the right way to see the pirate that had struck him. The bald man's face was a mask of fury as he tried to wrench his axe free of the wooden wall of the ship. The blow he had aimed at Ike was so fierce that his weapon had stuck itself very solidly into the varnished hull of the ship. Had he struck Ike directly, he may have cut Ike in half.

So preoccupied was he in getting his axe free, that he failed to notice the third member of the Greil Mercenaries make her way on to the ship. Titania came riding up the gangplank and, surveying the situation without even slowing down, directed her horse at the swearing pirate in front of Ike.

While the bald man did not hear her come up the gangplank, he did not miss the unmistakable sound of horse hooves on wood coming in his direction. He looked up just in time to see Titania bearing down on him. With another sharp curse, he dove to his right, away from the axe Titania wielded. He managed to avoid the fatal blow she was about to deliver, but her axe still carved a chunk out his left torso. The man's swearing dissolved into a mangled scream.

By this time, Ike had come back to his feet. He knew that Titania could handle the man without any issue, but he didn't know how many pirates were left to face them. He had to take care of the wounded pirate before the odds tilted against them. He had time neither to draw another weapon nor get back to his feet before Ike was upon him, and the Arturian sword claimed another man.

"Ike!" he heard Zawana yell as he pulled his sword free from the bald pirates' chest. His comrade was running towards him, a concerned look on her face. "You're hurt!"

"It's not bad." Ike replies through gritted teeth as he draws himself up. "Not that bad." He looked past Zawana to see that Titania has already ridden off towards the end of the ship. She had already intercepted a pair of pirates coming up from below decks.

"Go help Titania." he tells Zawana. "I've got to check on her." he says, nodding at the wounded pegasus knight.

"You sure you're okay?"

"I'm fine." Ike assures Zawana. "And I've got some vulnerary. Now go." Ike manages a faint grin for his comrade. "You said you'd watch my back, right?"

Zawana's answering grin was broad and bright. "Damn right I did." she boasts, hefting her axe and rumbling up the stairs they had been standing next to, over the glowing body of the first pirate Ike had defeated.

As he drew closer to the pegasus knight, he saw that the strike she had suffered when he had arrived on the boat was not as bad as he had feared. The armor on her back seemed to have absorbed the bulk of the force the thrown axe had carried. The axe had already fallen out of her back, and while the wound was bleeding, it was not the crippling injury Ike had feared it was. In fact, for a woman that had taken on no less than three to one odds, she seemed remarkably undamaged.

Despite the apparent lack of severe wounds, though, the woman did not seem to be handling the pain of the wounds she had all that well. "Oh, crackers! That hurts!" she moans rather dramatically. "There's too many of them... Dear brother, this could be the end..."

Ike took ahold of her shoulders. "Hey! Snap out of it! Are you okay!"

"So cold... So... Huh?" The young woman's eyes fluttered open. They were a beautiful shade of blue, and though Ike could see them reflecting the pain she was in, there was a brightness to them, an energy seldom seem in the eyes of the people he had known. "Who are you?" she asked him in a whisper.

"I'm a mercenary, hired to take care of these pirates. We're here to help the townsfolk. And you."

"You're... going to help me?" The woman seemed a little addled, her head dipping when she asked Ike that question. Ike was not an expert on the body, so although he did not think she had been that badly hurt, he also could not rule out the possibility that he had taken more damage than he could see.

Luckily for him, though, he did have a way to remedy that problem. He nodded at the woman while pulling a bottle out of one of his pouches. "Of course I will. Here, drink this." He removes the cork from the bottle of elixir the dark-skinned man had given him earlier. If it worked as well as the man claimed, it should set the woman right straight away.

He had to steady her hand a bit, but Ike was able to coax the woman into swallowing a large dollop of the elixir without too much trouble. Almost right away, the pink-haired woman sat bolt upright in her saddle, her cheeks flushing as pink as her hair. "Holy moly!" she cried. "I haven't felt a kick like that since Dancer got mad at me." She smiled at Ike, the perkiest smile he had ever seen in his life. "Thanks, handsome!"

"Glad I could help." Ike replied modestly. "My comrades and I can handle the rest of these guys. You can escape from here while we have their attention."

"Hey, yeah, that's a great idea! I don't even know how to thank you."

Ike shook his head. "You don't need to thank us. We're just doing our job, that's all."

"Pshhaw!" the woman exclaimed. "You saved my bacon! There's gotta be some way I can think you for it other than a little 'thanks!'"

Her insistence was not something Ike had been anticipating. "That's, uh, very nice of you, but I can't think of anything off the top of my head. Just get yourself somewhere safe, that would be thanks enough for me."

The young woman thought about that for a moment. "Well then, I'll just have to come back and repay what I owe you later!" she says firmly, still smiling. "What's your name, handsome?"

That was the second time she had called him that. Ike was starting to feel just a little nervous about that, but he was unsure why he felt that way. "It's, uh... My name is Ike. Of the Greil Mercenaries."

"Got it!" She gave Ike an energetic salute with her left hand. "And I'm Marcia, a pegasus knight of Begnion. Don't forget it!"

' _Not much chance of that happening_ '. Ike thought to himself as the unusual warrior returned her hand to the reigns of her pegasus, turning the beast towards the ship's railing.

"Take care of yourself! I'll be seeing you later!" Marcia cried out to him as her equine mount trotted towards the railing, spreading its wings as it jumped over the wooden barrier and took off into the sky.

"Begnion?" Ike wondered aloud. "I thought she was Crimean. She's a heck of a long way from home..." The thought brought a sense of respect for the woman from Ike. He knew she had been looking for her brother, but to travel from one end of the continent to the other was no easy task. Ike wished her well in her quest.

While Marcia had her task, Ike still had a task of his own to attend to. From the sounds coming from the upper deck, he knew there was still fighting going on and that his comrades may need his help. In this instance, though, he did not need to charge directly into battle without attending to his own wounds first. Ike exchanged the bottle of elixir for another medical bottle, a more common medicine called vulnerary. The young man knew it would not heal him completely even as he quaffed a dose of the liquid, but it would stanch the bleeding of his wounds, heal the smaller ones fully, and heal the larger ones enough to allow him to function near his peak.

As he climbed the short flight of stairs up to the second deck, Ike could not keep a sour look off his face. Vulneraries may be effective, but he suspected whomever came up with the medicine did not put a great deal of thought into the taste of the stuff. Ike could live with dull tasting things, but bad tasting things ruined his mood faster than almost anything else he could think of.

When he saw the fighting that was still going on, all thoughts of the bitter liquid he had swallowed went out of his mind. Both Titania and Zawana were engaged with the enemy. As they had done with Marcia, three of the pirates had ganged up on Titania. However, unlike Marcia, Titania had the seafaring outlaws outmatched. One of them already lay on the deck, dead or dying from the wound Ike could see in him. As he watched on, he saw Titania swing her heavy axe with deceptive ease, blocking the second pirate's clumsy attack and landing one of her own. The man dropped his weapon, clasping his hands over his throat to try and staunch the bleeding from the wound that Titania had just opened. The axe was not a weapon one commonly associated with grace, but Titania wielded the weapon with a grace and skill that, Ike believied, could be rivalled by very few.

He saw another pirate, this one carrying a curved blade, charging towards Titania from the stern of the ship, hoping to reinforce his fellow seamen. He was not given the chance, as one of Shinon's arrows came whistling through the air, piercing the pirate's leg. The man howled as he tumbled down the stairs he had been about to descend, and even over the sound of battle, Ike could hear his neck breaking. With the mast of the boat between him and the ship's port side, Ike could not see Shinon, but he knew he was there. And from the clanking sound from near the gangplank, he knew that Gatrie was about to join them as well.

That left Zawana. Compared to Titania, Zawana was a mere brawler with her axe. Even though she was wielding an Arturian weapon, which are easier to swing than mundane weaponry, she still didn't come close to matching the skill or speed Titania demonstrated. Even so, she was more than holding her own against the shirtless pirate before her. Both she and her opponent had been wounded, but since Zawana was using her magical axe, she was the only one bleeding. Still, she was grinning. "You can surrender any time now." she says to the brown-haired pirate.

"I'll give ye surrender, girl!" The pirate punctuated his rebuttal with a swing of his axe. Zawana twisted her upper body to her right, but not quite quickly enough to fully escape the attack aimed at her. The pirate's axe connected with her left shoulder, taking a bite out of Zawana's flesh.

The mercenary answered in kind, driving her axe upward from her hips. The blade struck the pirate under his chin, the axehead driving itself into the bottom of the pirate's brain. His body slipped off Zawana's axe as Ike came up to stand beside her.

Relieved of her immediate threat, Zawana pressed her hand over the gaping wound in her shoulder. "Bastard was tougher than he looked." she muttered.

Ike handed her the bottle of elixir as he walked past her. "This'll help. I'll handle him."

"Him who?" she asks, following Ike's gaze. A very large man was now headed towards the pair, the stairs audibly creaking under his bulk. He had the stomach of a man that had never missed a meal in his life. His gut, arms and face all had multiple scars, and his notched axe was the largest of all the pirates. Ike assumed this was the man in charge.

The fat man boomed out a rather high-pitched laugh, his voice belying his girth. "Yarrr har har! Ye rudderless fools! Ye kids think ye can best me mighty axe?" he asked before laughing again, his jowls jiggling furiously.

Ike stepped forward, no humor at all in his gait. "Return what you've taken from the townsfolk." he demanded of the fat pirate. "Then take what's left of your men and leave."

"Now I be sure ye be tetched in the head!" the pirate exclaimed, hefting his battle axe. "We sails into town, shows 'em our axes and says 'Arrrr', and they trot out grub and gold fer us. We'll not be givin' this up fer ye or none other!"

"Then you leave me no choice." Ike dropped into his battle stance, sword raised above his head.

The fat man's mouth split into a hideous grin. "I've little taste fer killin' kids, but if I must I must. Ye face the mighty axe of Cap'n Havetti now, boy!" he roars, swinging his large axe around dramatically. Too dramatically, Ike thought to himself. Something in Havetti's body language was giving Ike warning signs, and he prepared himself not for the pirate's charge and attack with his axe, but for some other form of attack.

Ike was not disappointed. Seeming to believe Ike had been distracted by his larger axe, Havetti used his left hand to draw a smaller axe from the small of his back and hurled it at Ike. The mercenary saw right away that Havetti's left hand was not his strong hand, for the throw, while it had some muscle behind it, was clumsy. Ike narrowed his eyes and concentrated as a thought came to him. He knew he could dodge that axe, but if the idea that was formed in his mind worked, he stood a real chance at shocking the pirates' leader. And that moment of shock might prove to be all the opportunity he would need to end this fight. Drawing a tight breath, Ike gauged the speed of the incoming axe, adjusted his stance slightly to his left, and swung his sword. The magical blade crashed into the axe thrown by Havetti and knocked it from the air, clear over the side of the ship.

Havetti almost dropped his battle axe in surprise. "By Shanty Pete!" he exclaims.

"Damn..." Ike heard Zawana gasp from behind him.

Ike did not revel in his successful gambit. He charged at Havetti instead. Still stunned by what he had just witnessed, Havetti tried to bring his axe up to guard against Ike's attack, but the motion was slow and clumsy. Ike battered the weapon aside with his first strike, and followed through with a back-handed slash that cut across Havetti's substantial stomach.

Ike might have taken a third swipe at the pirate captain, but Havetti had at this point regained his senses. His struck out with his free hand and shoved Ike backwards, not more than two steps, but enough to allow him room to bring up his battle axe and aim it at Ike's neck. Ike's sword hummed as he brought it back towards his body, intercepting the pirate's axe head. Even though Havetti had only one hand on his weapon, the force of the blow was still enough to drive Ike back another couple of steps. This man was strong, he realized. Stronger than he looked. Evidently not all of that fat on his body was indeed fat.

As he regained his footing, Ike saw Zawana run past him, her own axe ready for an attack on the pirate. Havetti laughed as he watched her coming. "Two or twenty won't beat me!" said the pirate captain as he raised his battleaxe over his head. In that instance, Ike was worried for the safety of his friend. He knew that agility was not Zawana's forte, and that Havetti, if he connected with a strike like that, was probably capable of cutting Zawana damn near in half.

For the third time that day, however, one of Shinon's arrows altered the course of the battle Ike was involved in. The archer's shot entered Havetti's left armpit, and his left arm fell lifeless to his side as he screamed. The weight of his axe now being unexpectedly supported by only one hand threw him off-balance, and he staggered to his right.

Zawana was primed and ready to take advantage of Havetti's vulnerability, and implanted her axe into the pirate's ribcage. That blow might not have been enough to take Havetti down, but Ike was there as well. He had been preparing himself to take advantage of any opening in the pirate's defences after he had struck at Zawana, but now he could have struck the pirate anywhere on his large body. His Arturian sword sank into the pirate's chest just below his left clavicle. Havetti managed to pronounce one last weak "Yarr" before gurgling inarticulately and pitching backwards. The sound of his body hitting the deck of the ship was like contained thunder.

Their leader was down, but Ike knew that did not always mean the fighting was over. He looked up from Havetti's body to see how the others were faring. His concern was wise, but unwarranted in his case. The senior members of the Greil Mercenaries had locked down the other side of the boat completely. The only pirates within sight were either dead, dying or undergoing Arturian transformation. Unless there were more hidden belowdeck, this battle was over.

On a second glance, though, Ike saw that not all of his senior colleagues were present. Titania and Shinon were there, standing among a collection of fallen pirates, but there was no sign of Gatrie. Not until Ike turned towards the prow of the deck and saw the heavily armored man ascending the gangplank. His armor showed signs of the attacks that had been thrown at him, but he did not appear to be wounded, at least not visibly.

Still, it was easy to see what had held him up. There was a woman draped across his back. He was using his left hand to hold her there while keeping a firm grip on his spear. "Gatrie!" Ike called out to him.

"Ho, Ike! You alright?"

He glanced around. Titania had some scores on her armor but was otherwise unmarked. Shinon was a little bloodied, but the few wounds he had seemed to be only superficial ones. As for Zawana, the dose of elixir she had to have taken had healed her completely, so far as Ike could tell. "We're all fine here." he called back to Gatrie.

"We even finished without you." Zawana teases the big man. "What held you- Oh." She nods as she sees the woman Gatrie is carrying. "Where'd you find her?"

"I had to pull her out of the water." Gatrie explains as he heads towards the group. "Give me a hand here, will you?"

As Ike started towards Gatrie, he heard Titania ask, "What was she doing in the water?" Ike was pretty sure he knew the answer. The pirate he had struck on his way up the gangplank had fallen into the bay after Ike slashed him. He had not been sure if that pirate would drown, or if the one strike Ike had landed would have been enough to activate the Arturian magic.

It was hard to tell from her hair, as the pirate had been bald, while the woman had medium length glossy black hair. But she was as shirtless as the pirate had been, and Ike thought they were about the same height. He thought he might have had to wait until she woke up to confirm it was one of the transformed pirates, but as he took the woman from Gatrie and helped sit her down on the deck, he saw that there was a faint scar just under the woman's collarbone, where Shinon's arrow had struck the pirate.

As unkind a thought as it might have been, Ike wondered if Gatrie might have handled the woman with such care had he realized she was one of the pirates, considering what he said about the transformed bandits he was working with. Ike kept that opinion to himself for the moment. Instead he asked, "She couldn't swim?"

"Didn't look like it. But I wouldn't have left her there anyway." he said proudly. "It's not my way to leave a pretty woman in trouble."

"You did the right thing." Titania told him. "But if you're finished, I want you and Shinon to search the rest of the ship. It wouldn't do to report a successful mission if we miss one or two."

"Ah, stay with your woman, Gatrie." Shinon grumbled. "I'll do it myself. Won't be any more tedious than the rest of this job." he added as he headed towards the door on the third level.

"Shouldn't one of us go with him?" Zawana asked Titania, though her tone left no doubt the she did not want to be the one stuck with the job.

Titania considered that, then shook her head. "There's no need. Even if there are one or two pirates left below decks, Shinon can handle them."

Zawana grunted. "Maybe picking off a pirate three rooms away might improve his mood."

"I wouldn't bet on it." Ike remarked. He looked up at Gatrie. "Is she alright?" he asks, nodding at the woman he had carried here.

"Pretty sure. She spoke to me after I pulled her out of the water. She thanked me, then she passed out." Gatrie scowled. "I think she must have been trying to get away from one of the pirates and fell in. That's how she lost her shirt, the monsters."

"I wouldn't bet on that, either." Ike muttered, but not so quietly that Gatrie did not hear him.

"What do you mean, you wouldn't..." Gatrie starts to ask, but he trails off once his eyes fall upon the sheathed hilt of Ike's Arturian sword. His face sank and a lot of the color drained away from his cheeks. "Oh, you don't mean..."

"He was in my way, and I had to get on board in a hurry." Ike explained. "There was a Begnion pegasus knight on board, under attack. I had to help her."

Gatrie still looked mildly disturbed, but then he raised an eyebrow inquisitively at Ike. "You did it to save a girl?" Ike nodded, and Gatrie's expression softened. "Was she pretty?"

Ike was amazed he didn't see that question coming. "I suppose so, yeah."

At that, Gatrie grinned and slapped Ike on the shoulder. "Then it's all right. Uh, sorry." he apologized when he saw Ike wince and sharply inhale.

While the two men had been talking, Zawana had crossed the deck to stand next to Titania. She grinned at Gatrie. "He's not the most complicated man in the world, is he?" she asks lightly.

Titania shook her head, smiling gently. "He is a good man, in his own way. I do wonder sometimes-" Titania cuts off abruptly, her gaze passing by Zawana. The shorter woman turns to see what the Captain was looking at. Titania's attention had been drawn to Havetti's body, which was now completely consumed by the pink and white glow of Arturian magic.

Seeing the awed look on Titania's face, Zawana nodded solemnly at her. "Hell of a sight, isn't it, boss."

"I never imagined I'd see anything like it in my life." Titania answers. "I've seen Laguz transform before, but, this..."

Zawana turned her gaze slightly towards her superior. "It still bothers you, doesn't it?" she asks gently.

Turning away from Havetti's body, and Zawana, Titania replies, "I... I just, don't know if this kind of power is something humans should have. Those weapons come with such a responsibility. I just don't know if any person can handle it."

Titania was surprised to hear a short, relieved chuckle come from Zawana. "I'm glad you said that." Zawana was smiling softly when Titania looked at her. "You let me and Ike carry these weapons. That means you trust us with them, right?"

Titania does not reply straight away. "I want to, Zawana."

"And that means a lot to me, Titania. More than you think." She takes a few steps away from Titania, and rests her arms on this ship's railing, looking out over the town. "I really wanted to prove myself today. To you, and to the Commander. I realize that accepting what I am, what my girls are, is a lot to ask. I know that Gatrie and Shinon haven't accepted me and my girls. No, don't deny it." she says, cutting Titania off as she opened her mouth. "It's understandable, really. I didn't really expect anything else. Heh, maybe this isn't the best place for this, boss, but I love that you and Ike and Boyd and the rest have accepted us, accepted me." The former bandit smiled uncertainly. "I want to do right by you."

As she dismounted her horse, Titania gave Zawana a reassuring smile. "Well, you are off to a good start, Zawana. In truth, you already were. You helped save Mist and Rolf. That's not the sort of thing we're likely to forget. And you and Ike went off on your own and both came through the fight in one piece. Apparently even helping a pegasus knight in the process."

"So... you're not disappointed? That I used my Arturian axe." Zawana asked hopefully.

"In my mind, I think it matters more why you used it, rather than the fact that you used it at all."

Zawana paused, scratching idly at her large nose. "Well... for Ike, I guess. I said I'd watch his back, so I just wanted to use the best tool for the job."

It was clear to Titania that there was something else on Zawana's mind. She seemed hesitant to say more, but the look on Titania's face made it clear that she wanted to hear it, and now. So Zawana, a little hesitantly, continued. "And because..." She sighed deeply, and the words started to pour out of her, "Because I was one of them, Titania. Because I was just the same kind of bad guy. And now here I am, fresh face, face start, fresh friends. So, why me. Why JUST me, I mean. How many other bandits and slavers and pirates and killers might might something better-"

"Slavers!" a woman yelled from across the deck. All four mercenaries turned to see the transformed Havetti sitting sharp upright, bellowing "Slavers. Ship, _Iron Fist_ , ohhh still fat." Her unfocused eyes passed over Titania. "You, you... Need your help, save... save them, ohhh..." The large woman's head lolled backwards as her consciousness left her.

For a moment, none of the mercenaries knew what to say. It was Gatrie who broke the silence with a chuckle. "That was pretty random."

His comrades were not as amused. Titania, in fact, looked rather stern. "Ike, Zawana, how many pirates did you use your Arturian weapons on other than the ones on this ship?"

"Just the one that Gatrie saved." Ike replies.

"Two more for me." says Zawana. "Back in town."

"I think you'd better go back and get them. Bring them here, to the ship." She squares her should as she looks at Havetti. "I have a feeling our day just became more complicated."


End file.
